Ricochet Speaks Out On Reason Behind Decision To Leave WWE For AEW

In his first comments since making his AEW debut at All In last week, multi-time WWE titlist Ricochet explained why he decided to leave the top company in the industry for All Elite Wrestling.

During the summer, reports made the wrestling dirt sheet rounds that the contract of popular WWE high flyer Ricochet was close to expiring. It wasn’t long before various rumors then pointed to the former Intercontinental and United States Champion ending his run with the company and heading to the competition .

Also Read: New Report Reveals Length Of Swerve Strickland’s New AEW Contracts

When WWE wrote him off television via a brutal beatdown by Bron Breakker in July, it became a waiting game for his eventual debut in AEW . That came last week when he was a surprise entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In. However, he did not speak at the post-event press conference. But on Friday he finally spoke publicly about his big decision in an interview with Sports Illustrated .

“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,” Ricochet said.

While he didn’t claim he hated his time in WWE , it wasn’t anything like when he was traveling the independents competing with current AEW stars like Will Ospreay. And that helped to make leaving the company after six years a somewhat easy decision for the 35-year-old.

Ricochet on move from WWE to AEW: ‘It was the right decision’

“It was definitely a big decision, but honestly, yes and no [whether it was a hard choice],” he said. “Obviously, yes it was hard because it’s a place I’ve been for the last six years. 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,” said Ricochet. “I saw the guys and girls over [in AEW] and what they were doing, and it just seemed so fun. Now that I’m 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.”

Also Read: AEW All In 2024 Recap – New Champions, Sting, Ricochet, Nigel McGuinness, Bryan Danielson’s Career, More

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