Ricochet might be on the path of feast or famine in All Elite Wrestling.
The 36-year-old AEW star began wrestling in his teenage years and within almost the past two decades has worked for more or less every major organization in the industry. He was a mainstay of the independent circuit of the 2010s and became known on a global basis through his work in New Japan Pro Wrestling. His 4-year stint there had many spectacular bouts, including a match against Will Ospreay that garnered a lot of buzz online at the time.
Right after he finished up in Japan, he inked a deal with WWE in early-2018 and found success on the NXT brand, as many “work rate” athletes did during that era. Despite more than five years on the main roster, and reigns with both the IC and US belts, Ricochet basically plateaued as a mid-card guy. Furthermore, he was, fairly or unfairly, typecast as a “good hand” in terms of his tremendous athletic ability, but just not someone that had the total package to be able to be a top guy in the position to draw serious money. That’s not necessarily as much of a jab as it might sound like either. There simply are only a few guys that can check all the boxes of a main event performer. Every company and almost every card needs those “good hands” to be the glue of the presentation. Make no mistake about it, there was a reason that Ricochet was the opponent chosen for Logan Paul at Summer Slam in 2023. As much as I don’t understand why anyone cares what Logan Paul does, or the draw for anyone that is “famous for being famous,” credit where it’s due, Paul has done well in the WWE. However, the office isn’t going to risk a train wreck on pay-per-view with someone that brings the sponsorship opportunities that Logan Paul does so they put him in the ring with a capable hand to make sure everything went smoothly. That’s a credit to Ricochet’s skills, not to emphasize what he might be missing from his skill set.
Still, there was a notion among fans that Ricochet had more to offer than the opportunities that he was given in the WWE.
One of the benefits of a healthy industry, and why it’s so important that there are options within the business, is the chance to test the free agent market. Ricochet’s WWE contract expired last year and he opted to see what his value would be outside of the company, which is a smart decision, especially if he hit a ceiling in terms of how far up the ladder he can go within the organization. Not that Ricochet is the next Cody Rhodes, but The American Nightmare is a prime example of how important it is to be able to evolve a career with a fresh start somewhere else. Nobody in the office thought that Stardust was going to main event Wrestlemania, but a six-year absence gave him the chance to ascend to the top spot in the company.
Jim Cornette had a very wise philosophy in this regard when he explained, “how can we miss you if you don’t go away?” and all things considered, Ricochet at least has a chance to rejuvenate himself to raise his stock for a potential return in the future.
However, and this is the other side of the coin as far as the risks involved in trying to branch out to attempt to prove the office wrong, in some cases, if a talent flounders, they might end up proving management right.
I’d say that it remains to be seen what the answer to that will be in Ricochet’s case, but at this point, it looks like he might unintentionally prove that maybe WWE management made the right call to keep him at a certain level. One of the positives, and in some cases the negatives, of the freedom for talent in AEW to tweak their presentation, is that some of the guardrails that are used in WWE to hide weaknesses can be exposed in the Khan-owned organization. During a recent interview, Triple H was asked about Ricochet’s exit, and while Triple H praised his athletic ability, he mentioned that the former NXT star wasn’t comfortable on the mic or working the camera. So far, his AEW tenure has exposed his lack of mic skills and his promos have been so cringe worthy that is was one of the reasons that the audience soured on him.
The real-life performer is probably a great guy, but he sounds like a total dork when he speaks on television. Furthermore, he made the mistake of jabbing with random trolls on Twitter so he looks very petty in the process. Finally, during AEW’s series of events at The Hammerstein Ballroom last month, the New York fans decided to throw toilet paper at him, which is now becoming a part of the show after that.
In theory, if he can lean into the rejection of the audience, it could help him evolve his character work as a heel, but the major problem is, and this is one of the reasons that some view high spot wrestlers are viewed as limited in how far they can move up the card, it’s going to be difficult to work as a heel when his maneuvers are so spectacular. This is actually meant as a compliment, Ricochet’s one of the most graceful performers in the business today so there’s somewhat of a conflicting narrative for him to try to work as a heel. Now, you might say that he’s already getting heat from the audience, but there’s a difference between heel heat and “go away heat.” If the fans would rather just not see Ricochet or more specifically not have to listen to his cringe worthy promos, his could be stuck in a position of indifference, where it doesn’t quite get over enough for him to be an asset as a heel, but the audience is too soured on him to embrace him as a baby face either.
The notion of indifference is the complete opposite of how to draw money in professional wrestling.
The reason I mention that the talented aerial star might be in a no-win situation is that he made his debut at Wembley Stadium in August and it took less than three months for the crowd to reject him. First, you have to wonder, was there a plan for Ricochet beyond the artificial debut pop? We’ve seen several guys show up and be featured on television for a few months until they fade into the background of the typical slapstick booking approach often used by Tony Khan. More importantly, even if they was a plan before, what’s the plan now? It goes without saying that the hostility from the audience was unexpected so how will his character be used to adjust to that? It’s possible that there won’t be any specific adjustments made beyond what we’ve already seen when he will pause between dazzling high spots to taunt the crowd.
I’m not trying to be too pessimistic, because he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented high flyers of the modern era, but the harsh reality is that he might not have the mic skills to be an effective baby face, and since the fans already soured on him, he might not have the character skills to be an effective heel. Again, indifference is the opposite of what draws money, and the bottom line is, that might put Ricochet in the category of just being a “good hand,” not a major star, which is exactly where the WWE put him before his AEW debut.
There’s no doubt that Ricochet still has at least a few years of his prime left, depending on how long he wants to continue wrestling. That said, at this point, it seems like finding the tools to effectively work a heel character will be the key to determine if he sinks or swims in All Elite Wrestling. At the same time, we’ve heard that Tony Khan pays hefty cash to sign free agents so if Ricochet is making great money that maybe any criticism of his status in the company is moot. As we know, the entire point of the pro wrestling business is to make as much money as possible, and at least from that perspective, Ricochet is successful.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
