AEW's Tony Khan Praises Ricochet Following WWE Exit: "Huge Fan, Great Wrestler, Lot of Admiration" (Exclusive)

Ricochet is currently a free agent.

By Liam Crowley

Ricochet is a free agent. The high-flyer seemed to officially leave WWE on July 1st, as the sports-entertainment giant shifted his WWE.com profile to its alumni section. This capped off a chaotic couple of weeks for Ricochet, as he was prevalent in the news cycle following reports that he had given his notice to WWE and intended to leave the company when his contract was due up. This was the highest-profile notice given to WWE since Jon Moxley (WWE's Dean Ambrose) exited the company in Spring 2019. Since being written off WWE programming, fans have linked Ricochet to AEW, as a bulk of his rivals from the independent circuit are on that company's roster. AEW President Tony Khan had been questioned about Ricochet, but opted not to comment while the former WWE Intercontinental Champion was on his final days of WWE payroll.

Tony Khan Praises Ricochet Following Official WWE Departure

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(Photo: AEW, WWE)

With Ricochet's WWE run officially in the rear view, Tony Khan has shared his praise for the free agent.

Speaking to ComicBook ahead of AEW Dynamite 250 on TBS, the AEW President noted he has "a lot of admiration" for Ricochet. 

"I'm a huge fan of Ricochet. I think he's a great, great wrestler," Khan said. "He's been involved in matches against some of the top stars in AEW. He also has a great history in New Japan Pro Wrestling, as he's been a champion there and a top star. We have great collaboration there and I love the history of New Japan and I think he's a big part of it. During a great era when a lot of our top stars were wrestling there, he was a big part of it. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Ricochet and think he's one of the top athletes and one of the most exciting stars in all of wrestling."

One of those NJPW rivals that is currently #AllElite is Will Ospreay. Earlier this year, Ospreay shared praise for Ricochet in an interview with ComicBook, encouraging him to "bet on himself" when his WWE contract expires. Khan is well aware of the magic that Ricochet and Ospreay made in the ring together during their string of singles contests in the mid-2010s, as he praised the bouts they put on.

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"Oh wow, just phenomenal. Phenomenal matches. Phenomenal one-on-one matches," Khan praised. "Ricochet was phenomenal in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a single star and as a tag team star. One of his greatest rivals was Will Ospreay and they had tremendous, tremendous matches. They have a lot of chemistry and friendship outside of the ring too."

AEW Dynamite airs its 250th episode on Wednesday, July 17th at 8 PM ET on TBS.

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