Ricochet versus Swerve Strickland is booked to go down on the February 5 episode of AEW Dynamite. It’s a big, non-title feud that has been entertaining from start to finish. Seeing Ricochet play this role has been quite the change since his time in WWE, and it is a fresh look at a performer that fans have wanted to see for quite some time.
Throughout his run in WWE, fans knew that there was another level to Ricochet. He was presented as the guy who could do superhero-like things at any given moment. While that was always cool to see, there was a ceiling for him in the company. But there was still another level to his persona yet to be seen. That is what fans are getting with his run in All Elite Wrestling.
This version of Ricochet in AEW is one that some people didn’t even know existed. He’s playing an amalgamation of what seems to be a parody of Andrew Tate and Norman Bates. The bald man in a suit and glasses gives an eerie look that is working for the “sickos” who love AEW.
Does everything about the character hit well? No, but that’s rarely the case in professional wrestling. What this is doing, however, is giving a new look to a performer who went stale in one company and was on the cusp of going stale again in another. It allows fans to see just what type of personality Ricochet has inside. Those that follow him on social media see what he’s like in day-to-day life, so it’s a good thing to see some of that come out on camera, turned up to 11.
But don’t forget about Ricochet’s abilities in the ring. He’s still one of the best high-flyers in the business, and a top all-around performer. Ricochet is going to deliver in the ring, fans can always count on that. Yet, it’s fun to see him do so under the guise of this heel character. It forces him to mix things up in a way that he hasn’t done in years.
Ricochet is a prime example of why competition and options are important in industries like professional wrestling. He is a talented performer whose talents were being squandered in one company. Now, he has the opportunity to show what he can do in another and so far, he’s delivered on what was promised.