Ricochet on His AEW Signing & Plan Was Always To Turn Heel, His Belief WWE Didn’t Try to Keep Him When Contract Expired, If His Online Persona Is His Real Life One, & WWE Pricing Out Fans and Those Fans Can Come to AEW Shows For Good Time

A recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show featured Ricochet as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Ricochet’s thoughts about his signing with AEW and the initial plans for his character in AEW was always for him to turn heel.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been so much fun. It kind of went exactly like I foresaw it going. Before I made any decisions or anything, when we got here, I actually signed in July, but I didn’t debut until late August. We were there for a little bit and I was always saying, ‘Ricochet, the goal isn’t to come in, be champion immediately, and dominate.’ It was come in, have some good matches, show people that Ricochet can still have good matches, then shift character-wise. Find something….I was always supposed to turn heel. We had other plans with another group, I don’t want to give too much away, but we had other plans before I even debuted, we had a trajectory of where I was gonna go. Then, what happened was so good with the way it was going that we stuck with Ricochet being a solo thing because it was going so good. The plan was always to shift character and turn. Things worked out the way they did. Some things you can plan, some things you have to run with. Everything happened to follow in line and Ricochet has made those moments.”

Ricochet also gave his thoughts about his belief that WWE didn’t try to keep him once his contract with the company had expired.

“For me, they didn’t try. They made an offer, we just couldn’t agree, okay, I’m out. They didn’t, for me at least, they didn’t really let me know they wanted me to stay. Who knows if that would have changed my mind anyway. This is just my experience. They may feel different. I didn’t feel they really sat me down and were like, ‘We want you to stay.’ Everyone has different experiences. That’s just how I felt.”

Ricochet also gave his thoughts about if the person on social media is a character or what he actually believes. Ricochet also gave his thoughts about WWE pricing out fans to their shows and how those people can come to AEW shows to have a good time.

“That’s a little of both. That’s a little where the line is drawn of where is it real? Every company’s goal is to make the most money possible. That’s why you make a company. You can’t argue against that. When we feel things are being done in bad faith. That’s when I feel, let’s get a little crazy. They can say the are doing it for this reason or that reason, they can say whatever they need to feel. How most people see it and view it is one way. Why not just say, ‘Yo, we know what you’re doing.’ They can do that. They have their backers. At the end of the day, I think AEW is in a great spot and we’re focused on us. Now more than ever, we’re figuring out ways to create new stories, drama, and suspense while keeping it sports-based and creating an alternative to what people have known for years. Now more than ever, in this economy, my dad, brother, and family, we grew up wanting to go to the shows and even back then, we were all broke and couldn’t afford to go shows back then. How the world is today, having a place like AEW, all those families and people who may not be able to afford to go to WWE can afford to come to our show and have a good time and experience some new action, characters, drama, and an alternative to what has been going on for a long time.

Whether they’re going to counter-program or not, I’m glad AEW is around because the backstage is getting better, the stories and drama is getting better. We’re trying to connect dots and give people something that is cohesive, and at the end, they can be proud that they’ve watched the whole thing, while giving you some of the best in-ring performances you’ve seen. That is important to us. Not that it’s not important to the other side, but for us, we’re a little crazy. We want to go out there and do crazy stuff and put our bodies on the line. I’m just glad that, however they choose to run their programming, that AEW is still here and we’re still around, and we’re focused on us. We’re growing more and more all the time. At the pay-per-views, you can feel it’s getting bigger. Maybe people are getting more emotionally involved, maybe that’s the feeling that I’m feeling. Every pay-per-view feels like a victory. It’s honestly good to be in a spot where we’re at and where the wrestling world is. No matter what roster you look at. The totality of the wrestling world in Japan, Mexico, and Europe, top to bottom, the rosters are deep. We’re at a great time in wrestling and I’m glad AEW is around to give variety to what is out there.

Since the beginning of wrestling history, we’ve been kind of programmed to despise other territories. Back in the territory days, fans went to this one, but not that one. We didn’t like the other territory. When they came together, it was WWF vs. WCW. One had to win and one had to lose. One needed to go under. We were taught to despise the other wrestling companies. Now, when another one pops up, it’s ‘Oh, we don’t like them.’ Not every fan is that way, but in history, it’s never been really acceptable to have multiple wrestling companies on television. Competition is great, but it gets to a point where you want this company to stop being a company just because it’s not the company you grew up with your whole life. I watched WWF and WCW. When I found out about ECW and New Japan, I watched that. I wasn’t so specific. I’ve never been that kind of person so it’s hard for me to understand those feelings. Competition is welcome and great. I’m glad AEW is here to compete.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1, 2, & 3