WWE Raw: Ricochet’s not buried yet, but he’s in a shallow grave
By Donny Starr
On the road to WrestleMania 36, WWE has no space for Ricochet on the card. That’s obvious now after this last episode of WWE Raw.
A month ago, Ricochet helped Drew McIntyre win the Royal Rumble, delivering a low blow to the WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar. This set up the Claymore Kick from Drew McIntyre to eliminate Lesnar. He then went on a four-week winning streak.
He beat Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat Match. He beat Lashley a second time the following week. He beat Karl Anderson the following week and Luke Gallows the week before Super Showdown. Ricochet faced Lesnar at Super Showdown for the Universal Championship. Three German Suplexes and an F-5 later, Ricochet gets decimated. The following week, he loses to Riddick Moss.
Ricochet: A top contender for the Universal Title one week to being beat by a 24/7 Champion the following week. Ouch. Ricochet should have won that match. He had the momentum. Why let a 24/7 Champion win? Because they need Ricochet out of any Mania conversations.
I’ll say it again: He just lost to the current 24/7 Champion. I don’t mean to disrespect that championship. It’s entertaining to see who gets it next. The championship is for comic relief. I was shocked to even see him in that match, but this is WWE Logic.
After losing a Universal Title match, where was his story going to go? Nobody knew, including WWE. The solution: Have him lose a few until he’s completely irrelevant.
Does this mean he’s done? No, he’s far from done. I would say he’s been put on the backburner for now. If they’re going to do something else with him at this point, it’s going to be very, very confusing, not to mention tricky.
He’s gone through a heavy build and a quick tear down in two months. He needs to be off screen for a while. I don’t see a storyline that justifies him on TV other than for squash matches. He needs a new story to tell and a good break from TV will help.
I’m not writing this to start some #JUSTICE4RICHOCHET battle cry on social media. He doesn’t need that. He’s still going to be around. Just not for Mania season. This burial is more like a shallow grave, so to speak.
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What I predict is he’ll return to chase a title. That title will be the Intercontinental Championship. It’s the perfect championship for him to compete for coming off a Universal Title loss. He’s not going to be a Tag Team Champion.
The Street Profits are going to hold that for a while. The U.S. Title? Andrade. He’s not getting dethroned any time soon. The Intercontinental Championship is where Ricochet finds his fresh start on Monday Night Raw.