Ricochet recently left WWE, as he entered free agency on July 1. He signed with AEW. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion debuted at AEW All In, as he competed in the Casino Gauntlet match. Now, he has opened up about leaving WWE.
Speaking with Steven Muelhausen for The Takedown on SI, Ricochet was asked whether it was weird to hear that he was an AEW superstar now.
“No, actually, it doesn’t really,” Ricochet said. “It may be because it already feels like a home for me. I’ve already known most of the roster for most of my career already, so that has a lot to do with it. But it doesn’t sound weird at all to me. It feels normal, oddly.
Ricochet was then asked to comment on why he left WWE and went to AEW.
“Honestly, the biggest reason is that I’ve been doing this for a long time, 21 years this year,” he said. “And for me, the time when I was like, having the most fun in my career was when I was, like, traveling the world with those crazy lunatics in the back there. It’s literally the time when I was having the most fun. Despite what people may think, it’s not always been bad for Ricochet. I’ve had fun my entire career, no matter where I went. I’ve always had fun.
“That’s not going to change. But when I was having the most fun was when I was hanging out with these guys and traveling the world with these guys and having matches with these guys and creating the art that I really like to make for I feel like the Ricochet fans out there who’s been, you know, I guess just missing the opportunity to shine. But for me, it’s to have fun again and to create that art again.”
Ricochet On Leaving WWE
Ricochet was then asked whether leaving WWE was a hard decision.
“It was definitely a big decision, but honestly, yes and no,” he said. “Obviously, yes it was hard because it’s a place I’ve been for the last six years. of I’ve met. I got some really good connections, some friends, and some good memories there. So it was definitely hard. But at the same time, no, it wasn’t because I am a person who has always changed. I’ve always done stuff, so that’s something that I was looking forward to.
“And I just saw what AEW was doing. I saw the guys and girls over there and what they were doing, and it just seemed so fun. You want to be a part of it. Now that I’m able to and able to be a part of it and hopefully help move it forward into the next, generation is going to be awesome. So, as hard of a decision as it was, I knew it was the right decision.”
Ricochet won his AEW Dynamite debut on the August 28 episode, as he defeated Kyle Fletcher. Will Ospreay came out after the match, and PAC attacked him. He told Ricochet to get in the back of the line, teasing a potential match between the two.
