Ricochet has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Paul “Triple H” Levesque's elevation to the Chief Creative Officer of WWE.

Now sure, technically, King Ric won the Intercontinental Championship under Vince McMahon and held the belt from March through June, but he only had five title defenses and none of which came on a “Premium Live Event.” Granted, Ricochet hasn't been featured on a WWE “Premium Live Event” under Levesque either, save Worlds Collide for NXT, but he's been featured on television almost weekly, has challenged GUNTHER for the IC Title on 23 occasions – mostly on house shows – and won the SmackDown World Cup, which didn't ultimately lead to much but was cool nonetheless.

Fast forward to January of 2023, and while Mr. McMahon has returned to power, at least in the board room, Ricochet's push hasn't slowed down, as he secured a big-time win over noted non-high flyer Top Dolla to secure a spot in the Royal Rumble. Speaking with Cathy Kelley after the show, Ricochet explained how having a friend in WWE has made his life a little easier and could prove beneficial when the Rumble rolls around at the end of the month.

Everything is shaping up for Ricochet to succeed in 2023 WWE.

Despite winning his match versus Top Dolla, Ricochet came out on the wrong end of a post-match beatdown at the hands of Hit Row, who have apparently turned heel following some backstage bullying in the locker room. When asked about the outcome of the match and Braun Strowman's eventual save, Ricochet let it be known that it's always nice to have a “monster in your pocket.”

“First of all, I just wanna say that, ow… Anyway, first of all, what I wanted to say was that Top Dolla, B-Fab, Adonis, all of them, they think they got one over on me, that’s so good, congratulations guys, congratulations,” Ricochet said. “But I just wanna let you know this isn’t the first time that someone’s beaten me up after a match, and this probably won’t be the last time that someone beats me up after a match. So I am so sorry for you, but I did exactly what I said that I was going to do, that was come into this week, take care of business, take care of Top Dolla, and move on to the Royal Rumble. And sure, they got a couple cheap shots afterwards, but that’s why you always have a monster in your pocket. And luckily, I was fortunate enough to have someone that I’ve kind of created an alliance with, a bond with, a friendship, if you will. Someone that I’ve, you know, been pretty close to recently, and that’s Braun Strowman. So, luckily, he came out there and he had my back.”

Monster in his pocket… pocket monster… so, is Braun Strowman Ricochet's supersized Pikachu (or, more realistically, Machamp)? Either way, Ricochet turned his attention to the Royal Rumble, and how, after appearing in the match three times before, he's ready to win it all this time around.

“But, to move on to your question, the Royal Rumble, how do you prepare for it? How does anybody prepare for the Royal Rumble? I don’t know if there is a way you can just prepare for the Royal Rumble, it’s so… different. It’s so many people in the match, there’s so many objects out- there’s so much that goes into this, that it’s kind of hard to prepare for, but I think that I’m going to do what I do always, and that is be resilient, be determined, and then be that person that no one’s able to stop, like I was tonight, like I have been for the past couple of weeks. I’m gonna take all of this momentum for the past couple of weeks and move it from last year into this year and keep that going onto the Royal Rumble. And again, I know everybody says that they’re going to win the Royal Rumble, everyone says it’s going to be their year, but I know this year, it’s going to be the year of Ricochet, and it’s not just gonna stop with the Royal Rumble, it’s gonna go all throughout the year and it’s going to continue. So Cathy, the Royal Rumble, it’s gonna be amazing.”

Is this the year Ricochet really goes over and becomes a legitimate main event star, with a win at the Rumble serving as his coming out party? Only time will tell, but after how potent the back half of his 2022 was, there's little reason to believe his momentum is going to slow down… assuming Strowman doesn't turn on him.