Ricochet’s current role as one of AEW’s most prominent heels, backed by Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun, has become a defining point of his run with the company. Yet this success contrasts sharply with the original vision AEW had mapped out for him before he ever set foot in their ring.
Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, Ricochet revealed that the company’s plan was for him to turn heel almost immediately after his debut last August. “The goal was to come in, have good matches, show people that Ricochet can have good matches, and then shift character-wise,” he explained. “I was always supposed to turn heel. We had other plans with another group… We had another trajectory where I was gonna go.” (h/t Ringside News)
That trajectory changed once his early singles run connected strongly with the audience. His performances, highlighted by a standout showing in last year’s Continental Classic, built enough momentum that AEW chose to delay the heel turn and continue showcasing him as a singles babyface.
Ironically, Ricochet eventually made the turn anyway—this time on his own terms. His feud with Swerve Strickland, capped by a brutal attack that left Strickland bloodied, cemented him as a top-level heel. The shift has opened the door to the creative freedom he had been seeking, a direction reinforced by AEW CEO Tony Khan, who has since praised Ricochet as one of the most captivating wrestlers in the industry today.