Trevor Dean Mann
(born October 11, 1988) is an American
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
. He is currently signed to
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
, where he performs on the
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
brand under the
ring name Ricochet.
Before signing with WWE, Mann is best known for his tenure with various Japanese
promotions such as
Dragon Gate (DG) and its American branch
Dragon Gate USA
Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate.
Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice P ...
(DGUSA), where he held the
Open the Brave,
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
,
Triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
,
Twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
and
Freedom Gate Championships once, and also won the
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
King of Gate __NOTOC__
King of Gate is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling singles tournament held in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It is the successor to El Numero Uno, previously held in Dragon Gate and Toryumon, although Uno was a ro ...
,
DDT Pro-Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...
's
umbrella brand
Umbrella branding (also known as family branding) is a marketing practice involving the use of a single brand name for the sale of two or more related products. Umbrella branding is mainly used by companies with a positive brand equity (value o ...
CyberFight
, operating simply as CyberFight (CF), is a Japanese professional wrestling parent company based in Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of the CyberAgent internet advertising company. CyberFight serves as an umbrella brand for two existing promotions: Pro Wr ...
, where he won the
Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended " 24/7", as ...
once, and
New Japan Pro Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...
(NJPW), where he won the
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Best of the Super Juniors
The Best of the Super Juniors (often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Super Juniors, the first tournament was held in ...
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, and the
2015 Super Junior Tag League
The Super Junior Tag League is a professional wrestling tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Established in 2010, but preceded by the G1 Climax Junior Heavyweight Tag League in 2001 (won by El Samurai and Jushin Thunder L ...
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
alongside
Matt Sydal
Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
, in addition to being a former three-time
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior ...
and a former three-time
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion
The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion.
The title was announced on December 21, 2015, with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016. Through NJPW's relationship with Ring of Honor ...
.
Mann also wrestled as Prince Puma for American promotion
Lucha Underground, where he was the inaugural and first ever two-time
Lucha Underground Champion
The Lucha Underground Championship was a professional wrestling world championship owned by the Lucha Underground. The championship is the top championship of the promotion and is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which ...
. Mann is also best known for his tenure with
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) from 2010 to 2018, where he is a former
World Champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, and the only two time
Battle of Los Angeles
The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
(BOLA) winner, winning the
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
tournaments. Mann also worked for the
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
–based
Chikara promotion, working under a mask as Helios.
After signing with WWE in 2018, Ricochet beat
Fabian Aichner
Fabian Aichner (born 21 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler signed to WWE where he performs on SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci. He is a member of Imperium.
Aichner previously worked on the U.S. independent circuit ...
in his debut match for
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
and later competed at
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans for the
NXT North American Championship, a title he would eventually win four months later at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV. He lost the title to
Johnny Gargano
John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...
at
NXT TakeOver: Phoenix in early 2019. In February 2019, Ricochet started appearing on the main roster, making appearances on ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown Live''. This led to him teaming with
Aleister Black
Tom Budgen (born 19 May 1985) is a Dutch professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Malakai Black. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aleister Black from 201 ...
, winning the fourth annual
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and challenging for the
Raw Tag Team Championship
The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roste ...
at
Fastlane and the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE' ...
at
WrestleMania 35
WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...
. After officially moving to the main roster following WrestleMania 35, Ricochet would win his first main roster title, the
United States Championship, at
Stomping Grounds. He later would go on to win the
Intercontinental Championship on an episode of SmackDown in 2022, where became the first wrestler to hold all of WWE's three major secondary titles, being the United States, Intercontinental, and North American Championships.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2003–2006)
Trevor Mann started out in Chaos Pro Wrestling in 2003 under the ring name Ricochet. He began competing on the
independent circuit until he made his first major outing on February 6, 2006, at Insanity Pro Wrestling's Sacrifice event, where he took part in a
five-man elimination match involving future long-time rival
Chuck Taylor, DieHard, Tony Galloway and Ty Blade. Ricochet was the final wrestler eliminated as Taylor pinned him to win the match. A few weeks later on February 18, Ricochet took part in his first major
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
match as he, Chuck Taylor, Jeff Jameson, Brian Sterling and Cabana Man Dan took part in another five-man elimination match at
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Albany, Indiana. It was formed by Ian Rotten in 199 ...
's Xtreme Warfare event for the vacant Deep South Heavyweight Championship, which Cabana Man Dan won.
A few months later at IWA Mid-South's event We're No Joke! on April 1, Ricochet took part in a nine-man
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to determine the one contender for the
Light Heavyweight Championship, also involving his rival Chuck Taylor.
Although he lost the match to Darin Corbin, he was involved in an infamous
spot
Spot or SPOT may refer to:
Places
* Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States
* The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia
* South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse
People
* Spot (prod ...
in which he performed his finishing move, a
double rotation moonsault, off of a ladder to the outside of the ring and onto the other eight competitors. On that same day, Ricochet also competed at Insanity Pro Wrestling's event Mischief, Mayhem and Revenge, where he lost to Taylor for the promotion's Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Chikara
Young Lions Cup champion (2006–2008)
![Ricochet (wrestler) 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Ricochet_%28wrestler%29_2008.jpg)
On June 24, Ricochet made his
Chikara debut as he lost in the first round of the
fourth Young Lions Cup tournament against Chuck Taylor. The following day, he teamed with
Player Uno
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
in a losing effort to Taylor and
Cloudy. A few months later on November 17 at the event Brick, Ricochet picked up his first win as a member of the Chikara roster after he, Cloudy and
Mike Quackenbush
Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976), is an American podcaster, author, professional wrestling trainer, professional wrestling promoter, and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Mike Quackenbush.
He has hosted several ...
defeated
Cheech Cheech or The Cheech may refer to:
People
* Cheech Marin (born 1946), American stand-up comedian and actor
* Cheech, professional wrestler, part of The Miracle Ultraviolence Connection
Other
* ''Cheech'' (film), a 2006 Canadian comedy-drama f ...
, Retail Dragon and
Shane Storm. The following day, Ricochet again lost to Taylor at the event Talent Borrows; Genius Steals.
On February 16, 2007, at the
King of Trios
King of Trios was a three-night tournament promoted by the Chikara professional wrestling promotion. The tournament was a different take on the Tag World Grand Prix event that the promotion was known for annually promoting; in King of Trios, ins ...
event, Ricochet made his first challenge for the Young Lions Cup, but was unable to defeat
Max Boyer
Maxime "Max" Boyer (born June 2, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his time in the Chikara and International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) professional wrestling promotions. Boyer is a former Chikara Young Lions Cup Champion ...
for the title. Two days later, he lost to
Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club stable. Castagnoli also performs for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Ho ...
. On April 22, Ricochet took part in the semi-finals of the first-ever
Rey de Voladores tournament, where he lost in a fatal four-way elimination match involving Retail Dragon,
Pac and long-time rival Chuck Taylor, the latter of whom would go on to win the tournament. On June 23, Ricochet won his first round match of the fifth Young Lions Cup tournament after he defeated Chrisjen Hayme.
Later on in the day, Ricochet won a six-way elimination match in the semi-finals to advance to the final.
The next day, Ricochet lost to Chuck Taylor for the vacant Young Lions Cup. On August 18 at the event Here Come The International Invaders, Ricochet faced and lost to Taylor in a
Young Lions Cup vs. Career match, resulting in Ricochet being forced to
leave
Leave may refer to:
* Permission (disambiguation)
** Permitted absence from work
*** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee
*** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...
Chikara.
On October 27 at New Star Navigation, Ricochet, sporting a new haircut, new attire and a
wrestling mask
A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha ...
, returned to Chikara under the ring name Helios, where he finally defeated Taylor for the Young Lions Cup. However, Taylor disputed Helios' win by claiming that Helios was actually Ricochet in disguise.
Despite Taylor's claims, Helios' win was still ruled as valid and was thus still the official new champion. On November 16 at Battle Of Who Could Care Less, Helios retained his Young Lions Cup title after defeating
Hydra. The following day at The Sordid Perils Of Everyday Existence, Helios again retained his title, this time against
Fire Ant
Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...
.
The Future is Now (2008–2010)
![Pro wrestler Helios in Chikara](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Pro_wrestler_Helios_in_Chikara.jpg)
On February 29, 2008, Helios teamed with Incoherence (
Hallowicked
Robert Goodwin (born November 1, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hallowicked. He performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion, where he started his career in May 2002. His accomplis ...
and
Delirious) and the three became "The Golden Trio" in order to participate in the
2008 King of Trios tournament.
After receiving a bye in the first round, The Golden Trio defeated Team IPW:UK (
Martin Stone,
Terry Frazier
The Kartel was a professional wrestling tag team made up of Terry Frazier and Sha Samuels. They are best known their work on the independent circuit mainly within the United Kingdom.
Professional wrestling career
Frazier, and Samuels, The E ...
and
Sha Samuels
Shaaheen Hosseinpour (born 27 February 1985) is an English professional wrestler. He is mostly known for his time in WWE where he performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Sha Samuels.
Professional wrestling career Insane Championship ...
) and The Fabulous Three (
Larry Sweeney
Alexander K. Whybrow (February 18, 1981April 11, 2011) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name Larry Sweeney. He performed primarily on the American independent circuit, but also competed in Canada, Mexico, ...
, Mitch Ryder and Shayne Hawke) in the second and quarterfinal rounds, respectively, before losing to
The BLKOUT in the semi-finals.
On April 19 at Deuces Wild, Helios successfully retained the Young Lions Cup against
Lince Dorado
José Cordero (born May 11, 1987) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent currently signed to Major League Wrestling, where he competes under the ring name Lince Dorado (Spanish for Golden Lynx), and is the current MLW Middl ...
. At Grit And Glory on May 15, Helios advanced to the final of the
Rey de Voladores tournament but ultimately lost to Incognito. On June 15, Helios lost his Young Lions Cup after
Fire Ant
Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...
defeated
Vin Gerard
Vince Gerard Durling (born February 4, 1986) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Chikara, where he was a one time Young Lions Cup Champion. Currently he is the owner/operator of Indiewrestling.tv.
Pro ...
in the final of the sixth Young Lions Cup tournament. On September 6, Helios teamed up with
Tim Donst
Michael Hopes (born October 17, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Tim Donst. He is performing primarily in Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), Chikara and Dragon Gate USA. He is known for his amateur ...
to take part in the first-ever
La Lotería Letal tournament, where they lost to
Icarus and
Ultimo Breakfast in the first round. On November 11 at Cibernetico Begins, Helios was a part of Team
Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
(Equinox,
Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, Worker Ant, Hydra, Tim Donst and
Mike Quackenbush
Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976), is an American podcaster, author, professional wrestling trainer, professional wrestling promoter, and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Mike Quackenbush.
He has hosted several ...
) as they defeated Team
Vin Gerard
Vince Gerard Durling (born February 4, 1986) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Chikara, where he was a one time Young Lions Cup Champion. Currently he is the owner/operator of Indiewrestling.tv.
Pro ...
(Gerard, STIGMA,
Lince Dorado
José Cordero (born May 11, 1987) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent currently signed to Major League Wrestling, where he competes under the ring name Lince Dorado (Spanish for Golden Lynx), and is the current MLW Middl ...
,
UltraMantis Black
UltraMantis Black (born July 17, 1975) is a professional wrestler and musician, who performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion. He is a former one-time Chikara Grand Champion and winner of the 2012 King of Trios tourname ...
, Crossbones,
Amasis,
Ophidian and
Eddie Kingston
Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Kingston started his wrestling career in 2002, and has wrestled for numerou ...
) in a
16-man elimination tag team match. At Face with a View on December 12, Helios formed The Future is Now with Equinox and Lince Dorado and they defeated The UnStable (Vin Gerard,
Colin Delaney
Colin Matthew Delaney (born September 7, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE on its ECW brand, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and has performed extensively on the independent circuit for promotio ...
and STIGMA).
On January 1, 2009, The Future is Now (Helios and Dorado) lost their first match together against Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus,
Gran Akuma
Gran Akuma (born December 20, 1974) is a retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in Chikara. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro (FIP). In Chikara, he was a member of The Kings ...
). At the
2009 King of Trios tournament, The Future is Now defeated Team
DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
(
Kota Ibushi
is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), but is currently inactive due to suffering a shoulder injury. In March 2021, he became the company's inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion by ...
,
KUDO and Michael Nakazawa) and
The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian and Escorpion Egipcio) in the first and quarterfinal rounds, respectively, before losing to Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus,
Gran Akuma
Gran Akuma (born December 20, 1974) is a retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in Chikara. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro (FIP). In Chikara, he was a member of The Kings ...
and
Chuck Taylor) in the semi-finals. Following the tournament, The Future is Now then began a
feud with The Osirian Portal, resulting in Helios defeating Escorpion Egipcio in a singles match at Behind The 8 Ball on April 25 and The Future is Now defeating The Osirian Portal at The Bobliographon event the following day.
On the first show of 2010, Lince Dorado turned on Equinox and left the Future is Now to join the new heel stable
Bruderschaft des Kreuzes
Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (German for "Brotherhood of the Cross", commonly abbreviated to BDK) was a professional wrestling stable in the Chikara promotion.
History
Chikara
Background (2007–2009)
On May 27, 2007, at ''Aniversario?'' Mike Qua ...
(BDK). In May 2010, during the ''Aniversario'' weekend, Helios and Equinox first defeated Dorado and his BDK teammate Tim Donst in a tag team match and then won a four-team elimination match to earn the three points needed in order to challenge for the
Campeonatos de Parejas. Helios and Equinox received their title shot on June 27 at ''Faded Scars and Lines'', but were defeated by the defending champions BDK (
Ares and Claudio Castagnoli) in two straight falls, after a pre–match assault. The Future is Now came to its end on September 19, 2010, when Olsen left the stable to re–form his old tag team with Colin Delaney. This event also marked Helios' final appearance for Chikara as he began working regularly for both Dragon Gate and
Dragon Gate USA
Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate.
Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice P ...
.
Evolve and Dragon Gate USA (2010–2017)
On January 16, 2010, Ricochet would make his debut for
Evolve at the company's debut show ''Evolve 1: Ibushi vs Richards'' in a winning effort against
Arik Cannon
Arik Cannon (born December 23, 1981) is an American professional wrestler known for competing in companies such as Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, IWA Mid-South, All American Wrestling and Wrestling Society X. He also runs the Minneapolis-based wr ...
. However Ricochet would lose at the next event on March 13, 210 at ''Evolve 2: Hero vs Hidaka'' to
Chuck Taylor and again via countout on May 1, 2010, at ''Evolve 3: Rise Or Fall'' to
Johnny Gargano
John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...
. After being defeated by
Drake Younger
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...
in a four-way match on July 23, Ricochet ended his losing streak on September 11, by defeating
Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...
.
![Yoshino and Ricochet Tag Champions](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Yoshino_and_Ricochet_Tag_Champions.jpg)
On July 24, 2010, Ricochet made his debut for Dragon Gate USA at Enter the Dragon 2010, being defeated by Chuck Taylor in a four-way match, which also included Arik Cannon and
Adam Cole
Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH).
C ...
. At the following event on September 25, Ricochet teamed with
Cima to defeat Speed Muscle (
Masato Yoshino
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, best known for working in Dragon Gate, where he was known as ''Speed Star''. Dragon Gate's second Grand Slam champion, having been a record six-time Open the Brave Gate Champion, four-time Open t ...
and
Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotion, he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi.
Career
Toryumon
Doi debuted in ...
) in a tag team match. After the match Cima gave Ricochet a spot in his Warriors International stable. The following day Ricochet defeated Gran Akuma in a singles match. On October 29 at Dragon Gate USA's first live pay-per-view, Bushido: Code of the Warrior, Ricochet wrestled in a four-way match, which was won by Chuck Taylor and also included Arik Cannon and Johnny Gargano. At the following day's tapings of Freedom Fight 2010, Ricochet teamed with his Warriors International stable mate
Genki Horiguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is currently a full-time wrestler for Dragon Gate. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor.
When Horiguchi's hairline began receding, the fans began ...
and
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his ...
in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Ronin (Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano and
Rich Swann
Richard Allen Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Cha ...
).
When Dragon Gate USA returned on January 29, 2011, Ricochet now represented heel stable Blood Warriors and teamed with new stable mate Naruki Doi in the tournament to determine the first ever
Open the United Gate Champions. In their first tournament match, Ricochet and Doi were defeated by Ronin representatives Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano. The following day Ricochet and Doi were defeated in the main event of the evening by the World–1 team of Masato Yoshino and Pac. On April 2 at
Mercury Rising 2011, Ricochet, Cima and Naruki Doi defeated Ronin (Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann) in the main event six-man tag team match. During the match Ricochet suffered an ankle injury, which forced him out of the following day's match for the Open the United Gate Championship.
On September 11 at Way of the Ronin 2011, Ricochet and Cima defeated Masato Yoshino and Pac to win the Open the United Gate Championship in a match, where Ricochet's and Cima's
Open the Twin Gate Championship
The Open the Twin Gate Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title created and promoted by the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Dragon Gate had used the WAR IJ Tag Team Championship since 2006, until 2007 when Masato Yoshino and Nar ...
was also on the line.
After the merger of Evolve and Dragon Gate USA, Ricochet took part in the final official professional wrestling match in the
Asylum Arena
2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Arena, The ...
, when he unsuccessfully challenged Johnny Gargano for the
Open the Freedom Gate Championship
The Open the Freedom Gate Championship was the major title in the promotion Dragon Gate USA. The first holder of the title was crowned following a 14-man tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. The title was recognized by Dra ...
at an Evolve event on January 14, 2012. On March 30, Ricochet and Cima were forced to vacate the Open the United Gate Championship, after Cima was sidelined with a neck injury. In the main event of the evening, Ricochet teamed with Masato Yoshino to defeat Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano and regain the Open the United Gate Championship.
On June 21, Ricochet and Yoshino were stripped of the title due to Yoshino being unable to appear at the following month's Dragon Gate USA events. On July 29, Ricochet teamed with Rich Swann in a match to determine the new Open the United Gate Champions. They were, however, defeated in the match by Cima and
A. R. Fox
Thomas James "T. J." Ballester (born September 5, 1987), better known by his ring name A. R. Fox, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling. He is also known for his work in promotions like Combat Zone Wrestlin ...
. On November 2 at Fearless 2012, Ricochet was defeated by Fox in a Respect match and, as a result, was forced to tell his opponent that he respected him. Two days later at Freedom Fight 2012, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship in a four-way elimination match, which also included
Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa (戸澤 陽, ''Tozawa Akira'', born July 22, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and WWE 24/7 Champion, winning ...
and A. R. Fox. On April 4, 2014, Ricochet defeated Gargano to win the Open the Freedom Gate Championship.
On November 16, 2014, during Dragon Gate USA's parent company WWNLive's tour of China, Ricochet lost the title back to Gargano.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2010–2018)
On September 5, 2010, Ricochet made his debut for
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
promotion
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, losing to Claudio Castagnoli in the first round of the
2010 Battle of Los Angeles, in what was called a "star making performance".
The following day Ricochet participated in a six-man tag team match, where he, Johnny Goodtime and
Rocky Romero
John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッ ...
were defeated by
, Chuck Taylor and
Ryan Taylor, when Ricochet was pinned by his old rival, Chuck Taylor.
At the following event on October 9, Ricochet picked up a major victory over
PWG World Tag Team Champion
The PWG World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the tag team division of the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) promotion. It was created and debuted on January 25, 2004, at PWG's Tango & Ca ...
El Generico
Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline.
Prior to joi ...
.
![Ricochet at Final Act 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Ricochet_at_Final_Act_5.jpg)
Ricochet returned to PWG on April 9, 2011, when he filled in for
Paul London
Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is best known for his time with WWE.
After being trained at the Texas Wrestling Academy, London began competing for Ring of Hon ...
, who was unable to appear at the event, and teamed with El Generico in a match, where they lost their PWG World Tag Team Championship to
The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
(Matt and Nick Jackson). Even though El Generico blamed Ricochet for the loss, the two teamed up once again on May 27, during the first night of ''All Star Weekend 8'', when they were defeated by the Nightmare Violence Connection (Akira Tozawa and
Kevin Steen
Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in lat ...
). Ricochet returned to PWG on January 29, 2012, teaming with Cima in a match, where they were defeated by the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma).
Ricochet made another return to PWG on May 25, losing to El Generico in a grudge match main event.
On September 1, Ricochet entered the
2012 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating
PWG World Champion
The PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) professional wrestling promotion. It was first introduced in 2003 as the PWG Championship. The inaugural champion was Frankie Kazarian. ...
Kevin Steen in his first round match, following a distraction from his rival Brian Cage. The following day, Ricochet defeated
Roderick Strong
Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due t ...
in the quarter finals, before being eliminated by
Michael Elgin
Aaron Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Masa Kitamiya ...
in the semi-finals of the tournament.
On October 27, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Steen for the PWG World Championship in a three-way match, which also included Michael Elgin.
On January 12, 2013, Ricochet teamed up with Rich Swann for the
2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. The team, dubbed "The Inner City Machine Guns", was eliminated in their first round match by The Young Bucks.
On August 9 at PWG's tenth anniversary event, the Inner City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the PWG World Tag Team Championship in a three-way ladder match, which also included the DojoBros (
Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong).
On January 31, 2014, the Inner City Machine Guns made it to the final of the List of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla tournaments#DDT4 (2014), 2014 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, before losing to the Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent?).
On August 31, Ricochet defeated Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong in the final to win the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles.
As a result, Ricochet was granted a shot at the PWG World Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Kyle O'Reilly, on December 12.
On September 3, 2017, Ricochet defeated Jeff Cobb (wrestler), Jeff Cobb and Keith Lee (wrestler), Keith Lee in the final to win the Battle of Los Angeles (professional wrestling)#2017, 2017 Battle of Los Angeles, becoming the first two-time winner of the tournament.
On October 21, Ricochet defeated Chuck Taylor to win the PWG World Championship for the first time.
At PWG Mystery Vortex V, Ricochet lost the PWG World Championship back to Taylor in a Guerrilla Warfare match.
Dragon Gate (2010–2015, 2017)
Through his work in Dragon Gate USA, Ricochet got to make his first tour of Japan with its parent promotion Dragon Gate, making his debut on December 10, 2010, in Toyama, Toyama, Toyama, where he teamed with his Warriors stable mate Cima and Masaaki Mochizuki in a six tag team match, where they defeated Gamma (wrestler), Gamma, M.c.KZ, Kzy and Naruki Doi.
Ricochet's first tour of Japan ended on December 26, when he, Cima and Dragon Kid defeated Naoki Tanisaki, Takuya Sugawara and Yasushi Kanda in Fukuoka at ''Final Gate 2010'' to win the Dragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate Championship.
Ricochet turned heel on January 14, 2011, along with the rest of Warriors, attacking Masato Yoshino and World–1, and joining forces with Naruki Doi's group.
On January 18 the new group was named Blood Warriors.
[ On February 10 Cima, Naruki Doi and Gamma defeated World–1 representatives Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk and Susumu Mochizuki, Susumu Yokosuka in a six-man tag team match and as a result, Pac was forced to leave World–1 and join Blood Warriors. However, Ricochet blocked the move as he felt that he, not Pac, was the top high flyer in the world and instead challenged him to a match for his Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Championship, Open the Brave Gate Championship. The title match between Pac and Ricochet took place on March 1 and ended with Pac retaining his title. On May 15, the rest of Blood Warriors turned on Dragon Kid and kicked him out of the group, despite the fact that he still held the Open the Triangle Gate Championship with Ricochet and Cima. As a result, the title was declared vacant. On July 17, Ricochet and Cima defeated Dragon Kid and Pac of rival group Junction Three to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship.] On November 19, Ricochet defeated Pac for the Open the Brave Gate Championship. After their third successful defense of the Open the Twin Gate Championship on November 30, Ricochet and Cima vacated the title in order for Ricochet to concentrate on defending the Open the Brave Gate Championship and Cima to concentrate on chasing the Dragon Gate Open the Dream Gate Championship, Open the Dream Gate Championship.
On January 19, 2012, Akira Tozawa took over the leadership of Blood Warrios, kicking Cima out of the group. After Ricochet continued to team with CIMA in Dragon Gate USA, it was announced on February 9, that he was also kicked out of Blood Warriors. On March 4, Ricochet and Cima decided to mutually split up, with Ricochet joining Masato Yoshino's and Naruki Doi's new World-1 International stable and Cima reviving the Veteran-gun. On May 6, Ricochet lost the Open the Brave Gate Championship to Dragon Kid in his fourth defense. On May 25, 2013, Ricochet defeated Shingo Takagi in the final to win the King of Gate#2013, 2013 King of Gate tournament. As a result, Ricochet earned a shot at the Open the Dream Gate Championship, but was defeated in the title match on June 16 by Cima. On July 21, Ricochet and Naruki Doi defeated Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk for the Open the Twin Gate Championship. They lost the title to Dragon Kid and K-Ness on August 30. On September 12, Doi turned on Masato Yoshino, signaling the end of World-1 International. Ricochet quickly found a new alliance, forming Monster Express with Yoshino, Akira Tozawa, Shachihoko Boy, Shingo Takagi and Uhaa Nation.
On March 2, 2014, Ricochet defeated Monster Express stablemate Masato Yoshino for the Open the Dream Gate Championship, becoming the first ''gaijin'' to hold the title. Ricochet made his first successful title defense just four days later against another stablemate, Uhaa Nation. After a two-month reign, Ricochet lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Masato Onodera, Yamato in his second defense on May 5. Ricochet returned to Dragon Gate during the summer of 2015. On July 20, he and Matt Sydal
Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
unsuccessfully challenged Naruki Doi and Yamato for the Open the Twin Gate Championship. Ricochet returned to Dragon Gate two years later on November 3, 2017, defeating Eita Kobayashi, Eita. He wrestled his Dragon Gate farewell match five days later.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2013–2017)
On May 3, 2013, New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced Ricochet as a participant in the Best of the Super Juniors#2013, 2013 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He made his debut for the promotion on May 22, teaming with Kenny Omega in a tag team match, where they defeated ''Suzuki-gun'' (Taichi Ishikari, Taichi and Taka Michinoku). In the round-robin portion of the tournament, which ran from May 24 to June 6, Ricochet managed to win five out of his eight matches with a loss against Alex Shelley on June 6, costing him a spot in the semi-finals.
Ricochet returned to take part in the Best of the Super Juniors#2014, 2014 Best of the Super Juniors tournament on May 30, this time advancing to the semi-finals, after finishing second in his block with a record of five wins and two losses. On June 8, Ricochet first defeated Ryusuke Taguchi in the semi-finals and then Yujiro Kushida, Kushida in the final to win the 2014 Best of the Super Juniors and become the number one contender to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. With his win, Ricochet became the youngest person to win the tournament and the second American to do so. On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
On July 3, 2015, Ricochet made a surprise return to NJPW, challenging the winner of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match between Kenny Omega and Kushida, set to take place two days later, to a title match. Ricochet received his title match on August 16, but was defeated by Kushida. Ricochet returned to NJPW on October 24, when he and Matt Sydal entered the Super Junior Tag Tournament#2015, 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Time Splitters (professional wrestling), Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) in their first round match. On November 1, Ricochet and Sydal defeated The Young Bucks to advance to the final of the tournament. On November 7 at Power Struggle (2015), Power Struggle, Ricochet and Sydal defeated Roppongi Vice (Trent Barreta, Beretta and Rocky Romero) in the final to win the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament.
On January 4, 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, Ricochet and Sydal took part in a four-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by The Young Bucks. On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka (2016), The New Beginning in Osaka, Ricochet and Sydal defeated The Young Bucks and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...
) in a three-way match to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. They lost the title to Roppongi Vice on April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016, before regaining the title on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016. Later in the month, Ricochet entered the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. On May 27, Ricochet faced Will Ospreay in the tournament in a match, which received widespread attention in the professional wrestling world. While some like William Regal praised the two, others criticized the match with the most notable criticism coming from Big Van Vader, Vader, who compared the match to a "gymnastics routine". Ricochet finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the final due to losing to Chase Owens in his final round-robin match. On June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, Ricochet and Sydal lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks in a four-way elimination match, also involving reDRagon and Roppongi Vice.
On July 3, Ricochet and Sydal teamed up with Satoshi Kojima to defeat The Elite (professional wrestling), The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. They were stripped of the title on September 25 due to Sydal failing to make a scheduled title defense at Destruction (2016), Destruction in Kobe because of travel issues. That same day, Ricochet and Kojima, now teaming with David Finlay, defeated Adam Cole and The Young Bucks to regain the vacant title. This led to a match on October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2016), King of Pro-Wrestling, where Ricochet and Finlay unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Ricochet, Finlay and Kojima lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' (Tetsuya Bushi, Bushi, Takaaki Watanabe, Evil and Seiya Sanada, Sanada) in a four-team Professional wrestling match types#Gauntlet match, gauntlet match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017. Afterwards, Ricochet joined the Taguchi Japan stable as part of which he, Ryusuke Taguchi and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' on April 4 to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On April 29, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2017, Ricochet, Tanahashi and Taguchi lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship back to L.I.J. Ricochet then entered the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, where, despite a win over reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, he failed to advance to the final with a record of four wins and three losses.
Ricochet then formed a new tag team named "Funky Future" with Ryusuke Taguchi under the banner of Taguchi Japan. On August 13, the two defeated The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Roppongi 3K (Sho Tanaka, Sho and Yohei Komatsu, Yoh) on October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling (2017), King of Pro-Wrestling. Following the match, Ricochet took responsibility for the loss and thanked both NJPW and Taguchi Japan. His mannerisms were interpreted as meaning he had wrestled his final NJPW match. On November 8, Ricochet confirmed he had wrestled his final match in Japan.[
]
Lucha Underground (2014–2017)
In September 2014, it was reported that Mann had signed with the El Rey (network), El Rey network's new television series, '' Lucha Underground''. He assumed a masked character by the ring name of Prince Puma. He was given a fictional Latino background and managed by Konnan, with him doing most of the talking on his behalf. Puma wrestled in the main event of the debut episode of ''Lucha Underground'' on October 29, losing to Johnny Mundo. On the January 7, 2015, episode (taped October 5, 2014), Puma defeated 19 other wrestlers to win the Aztec Warfare Professional wrestling battle royal, battle royal and become the inaugural Lucha Underground Champion
The Lucha Underground Championship was a professional wrestling world championship owned by the Lucha Underground. The championship is the top championship of the promotion and is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which ...
. Puma made his first televised defense of the Lucha Underground Championship on the January 14, 2015, episode of ''Lucha Underground'' against Fénix (wrestler), Fénix. Puma then entered a rivalry with Brian Cage, Cage, which led to a title match between the two on the March 25 episode, where Puma retained his title. On April 19 at ''Ultima Lucha (season 1), Ultima Lucha'', Lucha Underground's season one finale, Puma lost the Lucha Underground Championship to Ricky Banderas, Mil Muertes. After failing to regain the title, he formed a team with Rey Horus, El Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey Mysterio Jr. and entered a tournament for the Trios championship. After defeating the team which consisted of Taya and two of Puma's old adversaries Brian Cage, Cage, and Johnny Mundo, in a qualifying match, they captured the titles last eliminating Fenix, P. J. Black, and Jack Evans (wrestler), Jack Evans in the final.
Mann had originally signed a contract with Lucha Underground, which gave him an out following the conclusion of the program's third season. With WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
reportedly looking to sign him, Lucha Underground offered Mann a new contract, which would have allowed him to continue working NJPW and the indies and would have made him "one of the highest paid non-WWE talents in the business". Mann, however, decided to opt out of his contract. On June 26, 2016, at the third season concluding ''Ultima Lucha Tres'', Prince Puma challenged Johnny Mundo for the Lucha Underground Championship in a match, where he put his Lucha Underground career on the line. Though Puma won the match and the title, he was immediately afterwards challenged by Gift of the Gods Champion Pentagón Dark, with Dario Cueto stating that the loser of the match would be forced to retire. Pentagón won the match and the Lucha Underground Championship with help from Vampiro, ending Prince Puma's Lucha Underground career. Though Mann's Lucha Underground contract had expired, he could not appear on television for another promotion until season three had been aired in its entirety. Mann later commented on his status, stating that an "underground fighting company holding [him] back" was the reason he had not yet been signed by a "major promotion". The final episode of the third season aired on October 18, 2017, sixteen months after being taped.
WWE
NXT North American Champion (2018–2019)
On January 16, 2018, WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
announced on their website that Ricochet had signed a contract with the company and would be wrestling in WWE's Developmental territory, developmental territory NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
. On January 27 at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Ricochet, billed as his real name, was shown sitting in the audience. Ricochet made his debut in a Dark match, dark match prior to a ''WWE NXT, NXT'' taping on February 2, defeating Fabian Aichner
Fabian Aichner (born 21 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler signed to WWE where he performs on SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci. He is a member of Imperium.
Aichner previously worked on the U.S. independent circuit ...
. Ricochet made his televised debut at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, competing in a six-man ladder match for the inaugural NXT North American Championship, North American Championship, which was eventually won by Adam Cole
Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH).
C ...
. Ricochet began a feud with Velveteen Dream after both men argued over who was the better performer. At NXT TakeOver: Chicago II on June 16, Ricochet defeated Velveteen Dream to end the feud.
Ricochet then began a feud with North American Champion Adam Cole and his stable The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...
and Roderick Strong
Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due t ...
). At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV on August 18, Ricochet defeated Cole to win the title, his first championship in WWE. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2018), NXT TakeOver: WarGames on November 17, Ricochet, Pete Dunne (wrestler), Pete Dunne and War Machine (professional wrestling), The War Raiders defeated The Undisputed Era in a WarGames match. On January 26, 2019, at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Ricochet lost the North American Championship to Johnny Gargano
John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...
, ending his reign at 161 days. In March, Ricochet formed a tag team with Aleister Black
Tom Budgen (born 19 May 1985) is a Dutch professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Malakai Black. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aleister Black from 201 ...
, and the two competed in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic#2019 tournament, 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which they won after defeating The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) in the finals. At NXT TakeOver: New York on April 5, Ricochet and Black unsuccessfully faced The War Raiders for the NXT Tag Team Championship in what was Ricochet's final match in NXT.
United States Champion and championship pursuits (2019–2022)
On the February 18, 2019 episode of ''WWE Raw, Raw'', Ricochet made his main roster debut, teaming with WWE Intercontinental Championship, Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor to defeat Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. Ricochet also continued his team with Aleister Black, and the duo competed in a Raw Tag Team Championship
The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roste ...
match at Fastlane on March 10 that featured The Revival (professional wrestling), The Revival, and Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, but failed to win. Ricochet and Black also competed for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE' ...
in a fatal four-way match at WrestleMania 35
WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...
on April 7, but were again unsuccessful.
On April 15, Ricochet was drafted to Raw (WWE brand), Raw as part of the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Superstar Shake-up, separating him from Black, who was drafted to SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
. On the April 22 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet lost to Robert Roode, suffering his first pinfall loss on the main roster. At Money in the Bank (2019), Money in the Bank on May 19, Ricochet competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match, titular ladder match, which was won by Brock Lesnar. At Super ShowDown (2019), Super ShowDown on June 7, Ricochet competed in the Battle royal (professional wrestling), 51-man battle royal in a losing effort. On the June 17 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet won a elimination match, fatal five-way elimination match to become the #1 contender for the United States Championship. At Stomping Grounds on June 23, Ricochet defeated Samoa Joe to win the United States Championship, his first singles title on the main roster. Ricochet lost the title to A.J. Styles, AJ Styles at Extreme Rules (2019), Extreme Rules on July 14, ending his reign at 21 days. Ricochet failed to regain the title at SummerSlam (2019), SummerSlam on August 11.
Ricochet then competed in the King of the Ring (2019), King of the Ring tournament, defeating Drew McIntyre in the first round, but was eliminated by Baron Corbin in the semi-finals. At Crown Jewel (2019), Crown Jewel on October 31, Ricochet made up part of Hulk Hogan's team alongside Roman Reigns, Mustafa Ali (wrestler), Ali, Rusev (wrestler), Rusev, and Shorty G in a winning effort over Ric Flair's team (Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, King Corbin, and Shinsuke Nakamura). At Survivor Series (2019), Survivor Series on November 24, Ricochet was included as part of Team Raw, where they lost to Team SmackDown in a 5-on-5-on-5 Survivor Series match, also involving Team NXT. At Royal Rumble (2020), Royal Rumble on January 26, 2020, Ricochet participated in his first Royal Rumble match at #15, causing Brock Lesnar to be eliminated after delivering a low blow to him, but was eliminated by eventual winner Drew McIntyre afterwards. On the February 3 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet defeated Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to earn a WWE Championship opportunity against Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown (2020), Super ShowDown. At the event on February 27, Ricochet was quickly defeated by Lesnar in under two minutes.
On the April 6, 2020 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet formed a tag team with Cedric Alexander, defeating Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan. Ricochet and Alexander feuded with The Hurt Business (professional wrestling), The Hurt Business (MVP (wrestler), MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin) after they injured Apollo Crews. However, on the September 7 episode of ''Raw'', Alexander turned on Ricochet and Crews during a six-man tag team match against The Hurt Business, attacking them and joining The Hurt Business, thus disbanding the team. On the October 12 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet defeated Alexander by disqualification, ending their storyline.
At Royal Rumble (2021), Royal Rumble on January 31, 2021, Ricochet entered at #12 but was eliminated by Kane (wrestler), Kane. At Elimination Chamber (2021), Elimination Chamber on February 21, Ricochet lost a four way match, fatal four-way match to determine who would fill in the vacant spot at the event for the United States Championship later that night. At WrestleMania Backlash on May 16, Ricochet accepted United States Champion Sheamus' open challenge for a non-title match, which he lost. On the June 21 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet defeated AJ Styles to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank (2021), Money in the Bank. At the event on July 18, he was unsuccessful as the match was won by Big E (wrestler), Big E. On the September 27 episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet faced Reggie (wrestler), Reggie for the 24/7 Champion, 24/7 Championship, but the match ended in a No contest (professional wrestling), no contest.
As part of the 2021 WWE Draft, 2021 Draft, Ricochet was drafted to the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. In October, Ricochet entered the King of the Ring (2021), King of the Ring tournament, where he lost to Xavier Woods in the first round. At Survivor Series (2021), Survivor Series on November 21, Ricochet participated in a 25-man dual-branded Battle royal (professional wrestling), battle royal, which was won by Omos. On the following episode of ''SmackDown'', he failed to win a Black Friday Invitational Battle royal (professional wrestling), battle royal, where the winner would become the #1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship, Universal Championship. On the December 24 (taped December 17) episode of ''SmackDown'', Ricochet competed in a gauntlet match for #1 contendership to the Intercontinental Championship, where he was the last person eliminated by Sami Zayn. At the WWE Day 1, Day 1 pre-show on January 1, 2022, Ricochet and Cesaro (wrestler), Cesaro lost to Sheamus and Ridge Holland. At Royal Rumble (2022), Royal Rumble on January 29, Ricochet entered at #12, where he and other competitors eliminated Omos before he was eliminated by Happy Corbin.
Intercontinental Champion and return to NXT (2022–present)
On the February 25 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ricochet confronted new Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, challenging him to a title match, which was made official for the following week. On the March 4 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ricochet defeated Zayn with help from Johnny Knoxville to win the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career, and retained the title against Zayn in a rematch the following week. On the WrestleMania edition of ''SmackDown'' on April 1, he successfully defended the title against Angel Garza, Angel and Humberto Carrillo, Humberto in a triple threat match. On the April 15 episode of ''SmackDown'', he retained the title against Jinder Mahal, and against Dilsher Shanky, Shanky on April 29. On the June 10 episode of ''SmackDown'', Ricochet lost the Intercontinental Championship to Walter (wrestler), Gunther, ending his reign at 98 days. He challenged for the title in a rematch on the June 24 episode of ''SmackDown'' in a losing effort''.'' On the following episode of ''Raw'', Ricochet competed in a Money in the Bank (2022), Money in the Bank qualifying battle royal, which was won by Matt Riddle, Riddle. On the August 19 episode of ''SmackDown'', he competed in a fatal five way match to determine the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won by Sheamus.
On the August 30 episode of ''WWE NXT, NXT 2.0'', Ricochet returned to the brand, confronting Carmelo Hayes. A match between the two for the NXT North American Championship was made for Worlds Collide (2022), Worlds Collide on September 4, where Ricochet was defeated by Hayes. On the December 2 episode of ''SmackDown,'' Ricochet won the SmackDown World Cup, becoming the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Two weeks later, on December 16, Ricochet faced Gunther in a rematch for the title in a losing effort.
Other media
Mann, as Ricochet, made his video game debut as part of ''WWE 2K19s "Rising Stars" downloadable content, DLC pack. He has also appeared as a playable character in ''WWE 2K20'', ''WWE 2K Battlegrounds'', and ''WWE 2K22''.
Championships and accomplishments
*Chaos Pro Wrestling
**CPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Chikara
**Chikara Young Lions Cup, Young Lions Cup V (Chikara Young Lions Cup#Title history, 1 time)
*Coliseum Championship Wrestling
**CCW Lightweight Championship (2 times)
**CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mystic Juvenile
*DDT Pro-Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...
**Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended " 24/7", as ...
(Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship#Title history, 1 time)
* Dragon Gate
**Open the Brave Gate Championship (Open the Brave Gate Championship#Title history, 1 time)[
**Open the Dream Gate Championship (Open the Dream Gate Championship#Title history, 1 time)
**Open the Triangle Gate Championship (Open the Triangle Gate Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Cima and Dragon Kid][
**Open the Twin Gate Championship (Open the Twin Gate Championship#Title history, 2 times) – with Cima (1)][ and ]Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotion, he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi.
Career
Toryumon
Doi debuted in ...
(1)[
**]King of Gate __NOTOC__
King of Gate is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling singles tournament held in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It is the successor to El Numero Uno, previously held in Dragon Gate and Toryumon, although Uno was a ro ...
(2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
)[
*]Dragon Gate USA
Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate.
Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice P ...
**Open the Freedom Gate Championship
The Open the Freedom Gate Championship was the major title in the promotion Dragon Gate USA. The first holder of the title was crowned following a 14-man tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. The title was recognized by Dra ...
(Open the Freedom Gate Championship#Title history, 1 time)[
**Open the United Gate Championship (Open the United Gate Championship#Title history, 2 times) – with Cima (1) and ]Masato Yoshino
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, best known for working in Dragon Gate, where he was known as ''Speed Star''. Dragon Gate's second Grand Slam champion, having been a record six-time Open the Brave Gate Champion, four-time Open t ...
(1)[
*House of Glory
**HOG World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**HOG World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2014)
*]Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Albany, Indiana. It was formed by Ian Rotten in 199 ...
**Battle of The Future Stars 2 Tournament (2009)
*Insanity Pro Wrestling
**IPW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**IPW Super Junior Heavyweight Tournament (2010)
* Lucha Underground
**Lucha Underground Championship (Lucha Underground Championship#Reigns, 2 times)[
**Lucha Underground Trios Championship (Lucha Underground Trios Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Rey Horus, Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey Mysterio
**Lucha Underground tournaments#Aztec Warfare (2015), Aztec Warfare I][
**Lucha Underground tournaments#The Cueto Cup, The Cueto Cup (2016)
*New Japan Pro-Wrestling
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (List of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, 3 times) – with ]Matt Sydal
Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
(2),[ and Ryusuke Taguchi (1)][
**NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (List of NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions, 3 times) – with ]Matt Sydal
Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
and Satoshi Kojima (1),[ David Finlay (wrestler), David Finlay and Satoshi Kojima (1),] and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi (1)[
**]Best of the Super Juniors
The Best of the Super Juniors (often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Super Juniors, the first tournament was held in ...
(2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)[
**Super Jr. Tag Tournament (Super Junior Tag Tournament#2015, 2015) – with ]Matt Sydal
Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...
[
* Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
**PWG World Championship (List of PWG World Champions, 1 time)][
**]Battle of Los Angeles
The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
(2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
)[
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
**Ranked No. 15 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2016
*Revolution Pro Wrestling
**Undisputed British Tag Team Championship (Undisputed British Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with ]Rich Swann
Richard Allen Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Cha ...
*''SoCal Uncensored''
**Match of the Year (2013) with Rich Swann vs. DojoBros ( Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong
Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due t ...
) and The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) on August 9
**Match of the Year (2016) with Matt Sydal and Will Ospreay vs. Adam Cole
Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH).
C ...
and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) on September 3
**Wrestler of the Year (2014)
*World Series Wrestling
**World Series Wrestling#WSW World Heavyweight Championship, WSW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''
**Best Flying Wrestler (2011, 2014, 2015)
**List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Best Wrestling Maneuver, Best Wrestling Maneuver (2010, 2011)
**List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Wrestling Observer Decade Awards, Best Flying Wrestler of the Decade (2010s)
**List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Most Underrated, Most Underrated (2020, 2021)
*WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
**WWE Intercontinental Championship (List of WWE Intercontinental Champions, 1 time)
**WWE United States Championship (List of WWE United States Champions, 1 time)
** NXT North American Championship (List of NXT North American Champions, 1 time)
** List of WWE tournaments#SmackDown World Cup, SmackDown World Cup (2022)
** Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic#2019, 2019) – with Aleister Black
Tom Budgen (born 19 May 1985) is a Dutch professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Malakai Black. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aleister Black from 201 ...
**NXT Year-End Award for Breakout Star of the Year (2018 NXT Year-End Awards, 2018)
** Bumpy Award (1 time)
*** GIF Moment of the Half-Year (2021) - Ricochet jumping over John Morrison
References
External links
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Evolve profile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricochet
1988 births
African-American male professional wrestlers
American male professional wrestlers
Living people
Masked wrestlers
NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions
NXT North American Champions
Professional wrestlers from Kentucky
Sportspeople from Paducah, Kentucky
WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions
21st-century professional wrestlers
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions
PWG World Champions
Lucha Underground Champions
Lucha Underground Trios Champions
Open the Dream Gate Champions
Open the Brave Gate Champions
Open the Twin Gate Champions
Open the Triangle Gate Champions
Undisputed British Tag Team Champions