Before his big match against Adam Cole at Takeover: Brooklyn IV, Ricochet sat down with
TV Insider to talk about his time in NXT and topics such as keeping his name in the WWE.
For those who followed Ricochet throughout his independent career, it was a surreal moment when the man with a certain set of jaw-dropping high-flying skills was officially signed to a WWE contract under his well-known name.
“It was cool because the last 15 years of my life has been about trying to build up a name,” he said.
“When I got to WWE, there was some rumblings about changing it. I was okay with that because it has worked in the past, and I had a few choices lined up. But when they said I was able to keep it, it meant the world to me because it was definitely a name I put my blood, sweat and tears in building. I built my own name. All the hard work built up to this.”
Ricochet was one of the hottest wrestlers in the independent scene, whether it was in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Lucha Underground as Prince Puma, and dozens of other indie promotions, he made a splash in any ring he stepped foot in. But despite his tremendous talent, the challenger for the North American title is always willing to learn, especially from pros like Triple H and Shawn Michaels:
“They’ve all helped me a lot and shown me how to look at wrestling totally different, in the best way possible,” he said.
“Just about the timing, having positioning. Top to-bottom, in the ring and out of the ring, I’m looking at it in a whole new space of mind. I think it’s for the better.”
And throughout his time in NXT, Ricochet has evolved into a solid talker, something he was not particularly good at in the early phase of his career:
“That’s one of the things I was kind of nervous about. I had the in-ring part, which has become second nature to me. However, to show my personality, it adds pressure. You have to perform under pressure and rise with it.”