Despite being lauded as one of the best in-ring performers and high-flyers in the WWE, and featured in high-profile matches such as his one against Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2023, Ricochet was still regarded by many wrestling fans as an underutilized talent in the company, particularly when it came to his reputation in the wins/loss column and his ceiling for success.
Main eventers make substantially more money than mid-carders and below in the WWE, whether that be from base salary or how their perceived status bolsters merchandise sales. Despite this, Ricochet says leaving WWE for AEW wasn’t motivated by money but a desire for what he thought would best serve him in “igniting the spark” for pro wrestling that was still burning within.
“I wasn’t going to go to the highest bidder,” Ricochet explained on the latest episode of the “Insight” podcast with Chris Van Vliet. “I was just going to go to whoever is going to make me feel good and ignite that spark again, ’cause I felt like that fire that was burning inside of me was like still there, but it was just like little embers that needed that gasoline on it to like really make it ignite, you know. And I just felt at the time, AEW could be that gasoline for my fire. Since being there I felt … I feel like I made the right choice.”
Ricochet added that business talks didn’t even come into the equation when he first sat down to talk with AEW owner Tony Khan — it was a conversation primarily rooted in love for the profession that won Ricochet over.
“I don’t even think we talked about business, if I’m being honest with you,” Ricochet continued, “now that I’m thinking about it. I don’t think we sat down and talked about figures and story and what I’m going to [do] character stuff. I really think we just talked about wrestling for like three or four hours and I think honestly maybe after that I was like, ‘Man, that was fun, that was cool.’ ‘Cause I felt like a fan again just sitting and talking so maybe that had a lot to do with it.”
Ricochet’s own aspirations weren’t the only topics he addressed on the Chris Van Vliet podcast — he also addressed the situation with his real-life girlfriend Samantha Irvin and her recent departure as ring announcer for the WWE. Ricochet revealed that Samantha wanted to be more than just a ring announcer but that was all the WWE regarded her as.
“I think ring announcing was only supposed to be the way in [to pro wrestling],” Ricochet explained. “She wanted to be a character. That’s what she’s been her whole life. She’s been stage performing her whole life, drama club to stage performing, to traveling the world doing stage performance. So that’s kind of what she hoped, and then I think once WrestleMania happened, I think she was like, ‘That’s the highest I’m going to get.’
“… When you’re just a performer, I guess announcing, because now she’s getting hate because she said she didn’t enjoy announcing, but she enjoyed making the WWE Universe feel emotions. She enjoyed using her voice to help promote and help move the company forward, but just literally, the act of [announcing] ‘Coming to the ring and weighing at 230 pound,’ this is just my example, it’s like having Mariah Carey, but she’s just a ring announcer, and you don’t get any of the other stuff.”
What do you think of the fact that Ricochet says leaving WWE for AEW wasn’t motivated by money? Do you think his girlfriend Samantha Irvin could have been more involved in the WWE as more than just a ring announcer? Let us know in the comments.
