Ricochet on Wanting to Defend AEW National Title in Japan, If He Feels Any Pressure Establishing AEW National Title, Praise of Collaborative Effort in AEW, Talent Being Given Time To Tell Stories in Ring Being Beauty of AEW, & Criticisms of AEW Having Too Many Belts

Forbes held a recent interview with AEW National Champion Ricochet. One of the topics discussed included Ricochet’s thoughts about how he would like to defend his AEW National Championship in Japan.

“And yeah, I want to go back to Japan. I think Japan is my favorite place I’ve wrestled. It’s one of my favorite places I’ve ever been, and I have a great connection out there. I know there are a lot of guys who are hungry out there, guys who would want to take a shot at this and take their opportunity.”

Ricochet also gave his thoughts about if he feels any pressure establishing the National Championship as a new title in AEW.

“Yeah, I think especially when you have a roster as deep as AEW, it’s like everybody could be champion at any point in time. You know what I mean? That’s men, women, that’s everybody across the board. You honor everything.

At the end of the day, say what you want, we’re all prizefighters. We’re fighting for a prize. You’re fighting for something. So I think adding another prize to the pot is only good for the fighters, giving them something to fight for. Especially when you have so many guys from the bottom to the top, everybody is so good.

I do understand what people are saying, but at the same time, when the roster is that deep and everybody could be champion at any time, I think it’s okay. But there absolutely is pressure with a new title, being the inaugural champion, to make it mean something and to make its legacy mean something, especially with the pool of other championships that are out there to be fought for.

That’s what I think I’m doing best. I think I’m representing this great. I think I’m traveling the entire world, putting everybody on notice, and letting them know that not only will this be defended on AEW television, but it will be defended in your hometown as well.

I think that gives people outside of AEW an opportunity. It gives them something to fight for, something to really reach for. So if you think you know, step up. The thing is, anybody on your show could win. I just wrestled Starboy Charlie. When they say it’s slim to none, he still had a chance. He still had a chance.

I think that’s something that makes this different. And then, yeah, just the fact that it’s me. I think I have enough history to know that I’ve been an inaugural champion for multiple other companies, multiple other times. I’ve shown that I can be the one to make a first-ever championship mean something big.”

Ricochet also gave his thoughts about his praise of the collaborative effort in AEW and his belief that it draws a lot of talent to AEW.

“Yeah, absolutely. Lucha Underground was great, and even my time in NXT was great. Obviously, overseas is always great, and the indies are always great. But here in AEW, it’s like all of that in one professional setting. I feel like the collaborative part of it is one of the best reasons I can find for why I like it here. If you’ve got an idea or something, you absolutely are heard. Sometimes they 100% use your idea. Sometimes you work together to get something that both parties like. Sometimes they say no and still do what they want. Either way, I think the collaborative part really is the thing that draws a lot of the talent to AEW.”

Ricochet gave his thoughts about how a scissors spot with Swerve Strickland ended up working on AEW television despite some reluctance from AEW’s creative team.

“I mean, a couple, without giving away any secrets. But yeah, I think one major one is the scissors spot. I think that, with Swerve Strickland, the way different parties saw it going, you know, the way I saw it, I think me and Swerve were kind of on the same wavelength as far as this went. The way we saw it going was a very specific way. So you go and you plead your case, you talk to them, and you tell them why. I think they actually enjoyed it. And even after the show, we were told, at first we didn’t really understand it, but once we saw it happen in real life and we saw what you guys did, we said, “Oh, we get why they wanted to do it this way.” And it worked out. Even after the show, they came up to us and said, “You know, maybe at first we didn’t get it, but now we saw it. So, good job.” It really is cool to know that your idea actually worked. That’s always cool.”

Ricochet also gave his thoughts about how talent being given the time to tell stories in the ring being the beauty of AEW as a wrestling company compared to other promotions.

“I mean, I think that’s one of the beauties of AEW. I know it gets a lot of flack, or whatever you want to call it, for being so match-heavy. However, because of that, each person comes out looking as strong as they possibly can. You know what I’m saying? Very rarely does someone come out looking taken advantage of, unless a story is being told. I think that’s one of the beauties of it. We’re given time to tell our story physically in the ring, for the most part, and that’s the beauty of AEW. One of my best attributes has been making others look good, making others honestly look better than they are. And that’s not even a knock on anybody. It’s just something I’ve always been really good at. I think another beauty of AEW is that basically everybody on the roster is good at making everyone else look good as well. I don’t want to say it’s a goal, but it’s something we all take seriously. Putting in work for everybody else. We get time in the ring to tell our story. We get more opportunities to get in the ring and tell our stories there, as opposed to WWE, which is a lot more promo-based storytelling. To each their own. Everyone likes what they like. But that’s what I really like about AEW, and that’s what I grew up loving, that style and the in-ring stuff. I’ve always been a fan of the physical side. Even when I went to the circus, I liked the lions, I liked the bears, I liked the clowns, I liked the ringmaster. But when the trapeze artists went on, that’s what I really loved watching. I think that’s one of the beauties of AEW. We’re telling some of the best stories we’ve ever told outside of the ring, but in the ring, we’re given the time and opportunity to tell our stories that way too. We all like to give. I think that’s where it starts.”

Ricochet also gave his thoughts about the online criticisms of AEW having too many championship belts in the company.

“Yeah, I think especially when you have a roster as deep as AEW, it’s like everybody could be champion at any point in time. You know what I mean? That’s men, women, that’s everybody across the board. You honor everything. At the end of the day, say what you want, we’re all prizefighters. We’re fighting for a prize. You’re fighting for something. So I think adding another prize to the pot is only good for the fighters, giving them something to fight for. Especially when you have so many guys from the bottom to the top, everybody is so good. I do understand what people are saying, but at the same time, when the roster is that deep and everybody could be champion at any time, I think it’s okay. But there absolutely is pressure with a new title, being the inaugural champion, to make it mean something and to make its legacy mean something, especially with the pool of other championships that are out there to be fought for.

That’s what I think I’m doing best. I think I’m representing this great. I think I’m traveling the entire world, putting everybody on notice, and letting them know that not only will this be defended on AEW television, but it will be defended in your hometown as well. I think that gives people outside of AEW an opportunity. It gives them something to fight for, something to really reach for. So if you think you know, step up. The thing is, anybody on your show could win. I just wrestled Starboy Charlie. When they say it’s slim to none, he still had a chance. He still had a chance. I think that’s something that makes this different. And then, yeah, just the fact that it’s me. I think I have enough history to know that I’ve been an inaugural champion for multiple other companies, multiple other times. I’ve shown that I can be the one to make a first-ever championship mean something big.”