‘The One and Only’ has had quite the rough time on RAW since losing to the Universal Champion at Super ShowDown. Brock Lesnar absolutely decimated WWE’s resident superhero in Saudi Arabia, leaving many fans wondering why they even booked him to go against ‘The Beast’ in the first place. In the past, most above-average wrestlers have been given equal footing against Brock, after taking their obligatory dozen suplexes. Superstars like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles have all managed to give Lesnar a run for his money, but unfortunately, despite his popularity, Ricochet isn’t considered on their level and was treated like local talent.
Ricochet walked away the definitive loser, failing to make Brock look any better than he does going into his Universal title fight with Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania. All this match did was hurt Ricochet’s standing with the crowd, and start a downward spiral that is becoming more and more evident by the week.
On the Monday following Super ShowDown, Ricochet took yet another loss to 24/7 Champion, Riddick Moss, truly a step down from Ricochet’s previous standing on the main roster. This week, Ricochet was featured in a singles match on Main Event against fellow NXT alumni, Eric Young. Granted, Ricochet was victorious this time round, but still a far cry from his glory days on RAW.
When Ricochet first debuted with the company, many fans believed that he was to be groomed to become one of the next big stars on the main roster. Being credited by the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Rey Mysterio, there was nowhere to go but up for the budding high-flyer, who was being regularly featured in high-profile matches against the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, The Bar and later on, ‘The Phenomenal One’ AJ Styles, where Ricochet would win his first singles title on the main roster.
All was going swimmingly for Ricochet; he was marketed as the superstar he deserved to be seen as, and was treated like a future main-event talent. That was until Ricochet started taking losses left, right and centre. Wrestling fans are a tough bunch to please, but this is something that’s pretty much unforgivable. For a superstar as diversely talented as Ricochet, it’s tough to justify his sudden drop in stock, and relegation to episodes of Main Event.
Of course, this isn’t exactly the twilight of Ricochet’s career, in fact there’s still a long road ahead for ‘The Only and Only’. Whether he chooses to spend it in WWE, or in greener pastures elsewhere, is something that only time will tell. Ricochet could easily become a main-event star wherever he goes; promotions like AEW, NJPW, or even back down in NXT would make the most of the charismatic athlete, whereas if he continued to waste away taking losses to ‘lesser’ talent like Riddy Mo, might slowly ware down his overall credibility.
Ricochet seriously needs to bounce back from this debilitating loss at the hands of Brock Lesnar. I guess WWE could argue that Ricochet has lot the pep in his step since losing his first shot at the Universal title, or even that the beating he received affected his confidence to the point where he can’t regain his momentum against even the undercard, but perhaps this would be too complex of a story for them to execute well.
Ricochet needs a big win at WrestleMania to put him back on course to becoming a big deal on the main roster. At the moment, Ricochet doesn’t seem to be involved in any minor feuds or storylines to provide him with a viable singles match, which can only mean that he’ll be sidelined to the Andre Battle Royal. In recent years, the Andre trophy hasn’t exactly meant much for the winners. They get to haul it about with them for a few weeks and then it goes back into storage until next year. Last year’s match was literally used for a minor gag between Braun Strowman and two celebrity guests. It was awful.
Ricochet could really benefit from walking away with the win this year. It could be the first time that the Andre trophy actually helps give a superstar a bit of momentum as they progress on the main roster. The last time this happened, it was with ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy, who won the battle royal thanks to a little help from his new partner, Bray Wyatt. Ricochet could easily springboard himself into a mid-card title feud, eventually building up enough momentum to put him back on track towards the Universal Championship.
It’s either that, or Ricochet returns to his home-turf of NXT. ‘The One and Only’ has recently expressed an interest in returning to the black and gold brand, especially now that NXT has become more of a third brand as opposed to a developmental territory. With the likes of Finn Balor and Tyler Breeze being given a soft reboot of sorts, Ricochet could easily follow suit and pick up where he left off with the likes of Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream and Johnny Gargano.
Ricochet would be a welcome addition to the NXT roster, providing a little bit of star power and high-flying flair to the show. Ricochet never did capture the NXT Championship, so perhaps that could be a goal of his in the remainder of 2020.
Either way, Ricochet really needs to start making some decisions before his career plummets too far into obscurity. Ricochet is far too talented to be allowed to waste away on episodes of Main Event. Should the damage already be done, then maybe AEW or NJPW could be the next best thing for ‘The One and Only’.
Where would you like to see Ricochet go from here? Should he stay on the main roster or try other avenues? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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