Ricochet Opens Up on Jumping From WWE to AEW, Matches He's Targeting and More

The professional wrestling industry is healthier than it has been in a long time, which means more promotions can provide wrestlers with opportunities to make a living.

It makes big headlines whenever someone moves between WWE and AEW in either direction. Jade Cargill and Ethan Page got much attention for moving to WWE, and stars like Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson made waves by jumping to AEW.

The latest star to make this move is Ricochet. He made his AEW debut at All In as a surprise entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match that was eventually won by Christian Cage. A few days later, the high-flyer scored his first AEW victory by defeating Kyle Fletcher in a fantastic outing.

As a veteran with more than 20 years of experience, the 35-year-old has already carved out a legacy for himself as one of the best high-flyers of his generation, and when it's all said and done, he may be viewed as one of the greatest aerial artists of all time.

We spoke to Ricochet following his match with Fletcher to discuss making the move to AEW, who he hopes to face, some of his favorite moments from his career, and much more.

Going from WWE to AEW

Ricochet's career has been going strong for a little over two decades. It has seen him work for different promotions across the globe, but from 2018 until June of this year, he was a member of the WWE roster.

The 35-year-old is the latest name to change promotions and received a warm welcome at All In. For Ricochet, making this decision had more to do with desire than dollar signs.

"It's helping me rekindle that flame that was still there but wasn't as big as I wanted it to be," Ricochet said. "Or it helped rekindle that flame I've had my whole career. That was probably the biggest thing, and I just found the love for the reason I started doing it in the first place.

"After doing it as I've been doing this, I can say that the time when I was having the most fun was with those guys at AEW. When I was traveling the world and doing the stuff with those guys, I can really say I was having the most fun I've ever had.

"So now, to be able to do that again with those guys and create the art that we were all creating together, that is something that I just missed."

Did He Have Any Fears Leaving WWE?

Deciding to leave WWE is a big one for any pro wrestler. Even if someone isn't being used on TV, a WWE contract can provide much security and give wrestlers a chance to see the world.

While making that choice can be scary for many people, Ricochet had a simple answer when asked if he had any fears about leaving WWE.

"No, honestly, because I have friends all over," Ricochet said. "They're all thriving. The whole wrestling community in general, I feel like, is in good hands.

"Everything is growing pretty good. So, no, I really wasn't worried because, for me, it was about finding that love and that passion, and I knew that was out there and I knew I could find it elsewhere.

"It was a big decision and it was a life-changing decision. and it definitely was a difficult decision I had to think about, but at the end of the day, I'm positive I made the right choice."

Ricochet's High-Flying Style

When you become known for taking risks, fans expect you to keep upping the ante. Ricochet has pulled off some incredible feats of agility in his career, but he always goes into these spots confident in his ability to know if he can pull it off.

"I'm sure there's been something that's been pitched that's probably just not doable," Ricochet said. "But for the most part, most of the crazy stuff that I did was something someone else pitched to me.

"But other than that, I try to always stay safe. You won't see me doing something that I don't 100% think I'm able to do. I can't think of anything specific, but I'm sure there's been something where I'm like, 'No, we can't do that.'

If you want to hear Ricochet discuss his workouts, which allow him to have such impressive agility, listen to the answer in the video above.

The Top Moments from His Career

After 20 years in the wrestling business, Ricochet has racked up an impressive number of accomplishments. He has held gold in WWE, NJPW, Dragon Gate, and Lucha Underground. When asked about some of his favorite moments, he singled out a couple of tournament wins and one specific opponent who inspired him.

"I guess as far as feelings, winning the Best of the Super Junior [tournament in NJPW] was a good feeling," Ricochet said. "Wrestling Rey Mysterio for the first time was a good feeling. Those two are pretty up there.

"Winning the Battle of Los Angeles in PWG was a good feeling. Both times actually. But again, I'm not trying to do this to pass those. I do this to try to give the fans a feeling. It's not even about me, it's not about us. I hope they get the same feeling when they saw me wrestle Rey or when they saw me win the Super Juniors.

"I want them to get the feeling to keep supporting me to help them get the feeling, you know what I mean?"

Potential Feuds

As fans learned Ricochet was AEW-bound, everyone started making lists of opponents he should face. His first match was the Casino Gauntlet at All In, with several wrestlers fans would love to see him mix it up with.

His first singles bout took place just a few days later on Dynamite against Kyle Fletcher, one of many people Ricochet was looking forward to facing in AEW.

"To be honest, Kyle was one of the guys I never really worked with that I've been wanting to," Ricochet said.

"MJF is obviously a guy that everybody wants to smack in the mouth. I think he's just got one of those faces. Bryan Danielson is a guy that I've been on a bunch of shows with all over but we've never really done anything.

"Hangman Adam Page. I could literally just keep going. There's so many guys there that are so good and there's so much potential with. Darby [Allin]. There's so many."

Movie Review

We always end our AEW interviews by discussing a movie, and Ricochet was excited to talk about the battle between Team Cap and Team Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War.

"I've been watching the Captain America movies with The Winter Soldier and Civil War," Ricochet said.

"You've got Captain America, you've got Tony Stark and you've got The Winter Soldier who was tortured, mind controlled and taken over to do some egregious actions. Once the news was out who The Winter Soldier was and all of this conflict started happening, the people on Tony's side are mad at Cap and Winter Soldier for not telling Tony what happened.

"They showed the clip of the fight and people think that they are jumping Tony because he's mad, but no, they're not jumping Tony. Tony started the fight. It's been a big discussion I've actually been talking about the past couple days."

When asked if he was Team Cap or Team Iron Man, he didn't hesitate to respond.

"I'm on Team Cap, but I understand Team Iron Man," he said. To hear Ricochet go into more detail about his thoughts, you can listen to his full answer in the video above.

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You can follow Ricochet @KingRicochet and Chris Mueller @BR_Doctor on X/Twitter.