For the most part, the days of unhappy WWE Superstars making the leap to AEW appear to be over. However, the professional wrestling world may soon have a big-name free agent as Ricochet is reportedly leaving WWE.
According to Pro Wrestling Insider, the former Intercontinental and United States Champion has told the company that he intends to leave when his five-year contract ends this summer.
The plan now is for him to be written out of storylines quite quickly, and we'd bet on Bron Breakker being responsible for "ending" his WWE career in terms of storyline. It's worth noting that, in a taping after Friday night's SmackDown, Ricochet lost the X-exclusive WWE Speed Championship to Andrade.
One source credited Ricochet with "betting on himself" and, at 35, he still has plenty of time to make an impact outside of WWE.
Even with Triple H in charge following Vince McMahon's ousting, Ricochet has not found the main event spot he so desperately wants. His booking has improved significantly, but it seems there's a ceiling for him in WWE that he's unlikely to ever break through.
"Even if I’m not the main event, I plan on becoming the main attraction," he said last September. "That’s where Ricochet belongs. I’m working to show everyone that. I’m capable of it, and that is what I am trying to manifest."
"I’ve been here five years. In the grand scheme of things, that’s really nothing.I think of guys like Rey Mysterio and Edge and Randy Orton. I want to be here for a good stint, and that is what I am working to accomplish."
Will Ospreay and Ricochet both put themselves on the map as high-flying innovators in the ring and often stole the show together on the indie scene in the mid-2010s. However, they haven't shared the ring since 2017.
That's because they each went down very different career paths, with Ospreay heading to Japan and Ricochet signing a deal with WWE NXT. The former recently turned down the opportunity to sign with WWE and became AEW International Champion during last month's Double or Nothing PPV.
"The fact that they only value his time for under five minutes is appalling to me," Ospreay recently said of Ricochet's standing in WWE. "I just want people to remember who he is. If you go and look at 2012-2013 Dragon Gate Ricochet, he was untouchable at the time. When it came to this generation of high-flyers, he was the greatest. He's the greatest high-flyer ever."
"I don't know how much longer he has got in his contract, but I think it might be up soon, man, I don't know. I want him to know that there are people [in AEW] that genuinely appreciate his work and I want to wrestle him again. I want him back here," he added. "I want him to know that there isn't a bar. You are the f***ing bar."
Whether Ricochet will become "All Elite" before the year is over remains to be seen.