Ricochet’s match for the Ring of Honor and Maple Leaf Pro joint show next weekend has been announced.
Ricochet vs. Rich Swann is now scheduled for ROH x MLP Global Wars Canada on Friday, March 27 at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. MLP will return to the venue the following night for MLP Uprising.
Others announced for the event include Desmond Xavier, The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows), Gisele Shaw, Mascara Dorada, Persephone, Bishop Dyer (formerly Baron Corbin), Michael Oku, Mistico, Ortiz, Maya World, Hyan, Eddie Kingston, Billie Starkz, and others.
MLP Champion Josh Alexander was also advertised for the show, but it is unclear if he will be cleared to compete after suffering a knee injury at the AEW Collision taping in Fresno last Wednesday.
Following online backlash over a controversial remark he made to a fan on social media earlier in the week, Ricochet did not appear on AEW Dynamite this week or in matches taped for Collision. He returned to the ring on Saturday at RevPro High Stakes 2026 in Wolverhampton, teaming with The Demand in a win over The Flying Bryant Brothers.
BREAKING NEWS: Friday, March 27th at Global Wars, AEW’s own @KingRicochet goes 1 on 1 with the always energetic Rich Swann!
Blink and you’ll miss it, so make sure you get your order in now on Triller!
Ricochet’s social media controversy has gotten some attention outside of wrestling with TMZ picking up on the story.
TMZ Sports published an articled on the situation on Wednesday, picking up Ricochet’s initial tweet and subsequent apology. The tweet was posted on Monday with Ricochet telling a fan he was “glad” she has multiple sclerosis after the fan criticized his acting ability. Ricochet then apologized the following day.
“I took out my hatred for the IWC on Sandi, and inadvertently others who are effected by MS,” he wrote. “She didnt deserve it and for that, I sincerely apologize. Moving forward I’ll do better.”
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Ricochet’s decision to delete the initial tweet came after a call from a friend who suggested that he do so. Meltzer said AEW did not force Ricochet to apologize.
“And then what ended up happening was, one of his friends called him and said, ‘You know, you really should take the tweet down.’ So he took the tweet down,” Meltzer said. “And upon thinking about it, he then apologized. Nobody forced his apology or anything like that. He decided to apologize and he did.”
Meltzer said there has been no word from AEW about the controversy:
“As far as where it stands elsewhere, as far as I know he has gotten no — I’ve heard nothing from AEW or anything like that as far as what happened.”
Ricochet, who lost the AEW National Championship at Revolution on Sunday, did not appear on Dynamite last night. His wife Samantha Johnson has deactivated her X/Twitter account after receiving violent threats.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Ricochet’s tweet and the fallout, New Japan Cup update, a big weekend schedule of Smackdown, Collision, New Japan, AAA and more, ratings, a poor edition of Dynamite and your NXT report as well, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Ricochet deletes controversial post & fallout 7:35: NJPW Cup update, early AEW Revolution numbers, thoughts on main event stipulation and more 19:48: Lineups for this weekend 35:21: Ratings 39:42: AEW Dynamite recap 1:04:09: WWE NXT recap
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including WWE and Saudi Arabia, new TNA TV deals, the whole Ricochet situation and how it ties into wrestling social media and more, the NXT TV report, and so much more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Ricochet has apologized after lashing out on social media.
The former National Champion received backlash online after writing “I’m glad you got MS” to a fan who was critical of his acting abilities, later deleting the message. On Tuesday he apologized for his post, promising to do better.
“I took out my hatred for the IWC on Sandi, and inadvertently others who are effected by MS. She didnt deserve it and for that, I sincerely apologize. Moving forward I’ll do better,” he wrote.
Ricochet seemed to defend his actions initially, writing on Sunday: “Its soooo hilarious that the amount of little b****** who has tweeted and wished harm on me, who has wished even death, said some of the most VILE things to me AND my wife. People who try and make fun of me EVERYDAY. But those same little b****** can’t take it when I do it back to people.”
The AEW star has been in a prominent role in the company since All In 2024. He became the first-ever National Champion late last year but lost the title to Jack Perry at AEW Revolution Zero Hour this past weekend.
Updates on WrestleMania, how we got to Rhodes vs. Orton and feuds that are starting
A look at the UFC White House show and how we got here
Full UFC 326 coverage including the most viewers of a TV UFC show since Paige Van Zant vs. Michelle Waterson
A look at the new AEW streaming service
NXT Vengeance Day coverage and poll results
Odds on upcoming pro wrestling matches
Logan Paul’s grandstand challenge to football players gets several takers, including some big names, but nothing can transpire and how it ended
Full coverage of the 16 Carat Gold tournament in German featuring many of the best independent wrestlers in the world
A complete look at the TV ratings from all the pro wrestling shows over the past week, including breakdowns in various categories, placings, how Raw did on Netflix, competition and more
CMLL’s lineup for its No. 2 show of the year next week
Full rundown of the CMLL all women’s show onFriday
Konnan news
Behnid the Nino Hamburguesa firing
Rey de Reyes notes
Stardom Cinderella tournament news
New Japan Cup and anniversary show news
Pro wrestler and MMA star looks back at a fixed fight and more comments including the Japanese attempt to get a major WWE star to job in an MMA match to theri guy
Notes on a new promotion debuting
Attendance updates for future WWE, AEW, TNA and other shows including Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano.
Giant weekend in Europe including the two big Eve shows and the controversy
TNA future direction
Notes from the Tony Khan media call
Putting recent Collision numbers into perspective
How Zuffa boxing’s biggest show did
Rousey vs. Carano and Rousey’s promotional tactics as well as responses from other fighters
Lots of new UFC fights
Jake Paul’s women’s boxing group makes ESPN deal
Changes to the WWE writing team
ESPN reporting side does exactly what they said they wouldn’t do regarding pro wrestling
A three-way NXT Women’s title match headlines Tuesday’s show. (Image credit: WWE)
WWE
The NXT Women’s title triple threat match between Jacy Jayne, Sol Ruca, and Zaria will open Tuesday’s show.
Triple H ahead of Booker T Appreciation night on tonight’s show: “Even as @BookerT5X’s Hall of Fame in-ring career ended, he has continually contributed to @WWE. Behind the scenes, he is a resource and mentor to our talent and in front of the camera… well, he’s Booker T. Join @WWENXT in celebrating Booker in his hometown of Houston, TX TONIGHT on @TheCW.”
Randy Orton repeated on social media: “Wrestling has more than one royal family.”
PWInsider is reporting that the American Gladiators revival hosted by The Miz and featuring Wardlow, Kamille, Jesse Godderz, and the former Rick Boogs is expected to debut this spring on Prime Video.
Ricochet caused controversy on social media in recent days after telling someone “I’m glad you got MS” following a post critical of his acting. The post has since been deleted following significant backlash.
TNA will be streaming this year’s Genesis event tomorrow at 7 pm ET on their YouTube channel as well as on their FAST channels.
ABEMA in Japan is holding a 30-hour stream to commemorate their 10th anniversary. One segment will have the broadcaster give 10 million yen to any fan that can get a three-count over Aaron Wolf, who won the gold medal in judo at the 2020 Olympic games.
WLBT has more coverage of the Ted DiBiase Jr. federal trial, with prosecutors presenting forensic accounting testimony showing that DiBiase received more than $2.9 million from two Mississippi nonprofits over the course of two years.
After KJ Orso attacked Marko Stunt and challenged him to a match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break X, Stunt will appear at GCW Maniac on April 4 to give a response.
Effy vs. Allie Katch in a loser leaves GCW match has been added to Joey Janela’s Spring Break.
Aja Kong vs. Senka Akatsuki has been added to Marvelous’ card that will take place on April 16 in Las Vegas.
More participants have been set for the Blackjack Battle Royal that will take place at AEW Revolution Zero Hour.
Throughout Saturday’s taped Collision, a number of stars made it clear they were in the battle royal that will air during Revolution on Sunday. Ricochet will be in the battle royal and will be defending his National title. The list of participants now includes:
Rush
Dralistico
Scorpio Sky
Anthony Bowens
Hook
Katsuyori Shibata
Daniel Garcia
Juice Robinson
Austin Gunn
Ace Austin
Trent Beretta
Rocky Romero
Jack Perry
Perry and Ricochet have been embroiled in a feud for the last several weeks. Although Ricohet successfully defended againt Perry, the latter’s team won the Mile High Madness match that took place on the February 25 episode of Dynamite.
Tommaso Ciampa had previously been announced as being part of the battle royal.
AEW Revolution 2025 updated lineup | This Sunday | Los Angeles
Main Card
Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm – Everyone banned from ringside
AEW Trios Champions Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis defend against Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey & Mistico
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Kris Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match
Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland
Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita in a no time limit match
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again
AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale) defend against Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. The Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors)
AEW National Champion Ricochet has agreed with Sol Ruca’s recent racial identity statement.
Former NXT Women’s North American champion Sol Ruca appeared on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, where she opened up about her mixed racial identity. Shortly after the clip went viral on the internet, AEW’s Ricochet shared his take on it and agreed with Ruca’s statements.
“I agree with her. As a mixed kid growing up in Kentucky in the early 90’s I was a black kid to the white people and I was a white kid to the black people,” he said.
“But as I grew older I felt so much more acceptance and most all my friends were from the black community. So naturally thats what felt right for me. But it took me a while to understand and realize that being mixed is the best!“
Ruca, 26, is currently one of the most popular women’s wrestlers on the NXT roster. Currently in a feud with her former tag-team partner, Zaria, Ruca also recently participated in the women’s Royal Rumble and impressed everyone with her performance.
On the other hand, Ricochet is scheduled to defend his AEW National title in a 21-man Blackjack Battle Royal at AEW Revolution 2026.
I agree with her.
As a mixed kid growing up in Kentucky in the early 90's I was a black kid to the white people and I was a white kid to the black people.
But as I grew older I felt so much more acceptance and most all my friends were from the black community. So naturally… https://t.co/nkiFRJVU1F
Michael Oku is best known around the world for his series of matches against Will Ospreay. Now he’s going to get to show what he can do against another AEW star.
Revolution Pro Wrestling owner Andy Quildan and Tom Campbell announced on the promotion’s YouTube channel that Oku would be facing AEW National Champion Ricochet at RevPro Live in Coventry on Sunday, March 22.
This will be the first-ever singles match between Oku and Ricochet. They have met in one previous match: Ricochet teamed with Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona to defeat Oku & Kevin Knight & Speedball Bailey at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025.
Ricochet has defended the AEW National Championship one time previously in RevPro, retaining against Nino Bryant at RevPro Uprising 2025 in December.
It is unclear whether or not Ricochet’s title will be on the line against Oku, or if indeed he will even be champion by then—he is scheduled to defend the title in a battle royal on the preshow to AEW Revolution this coming Sunday, March 15.
RevPro Live in Coventry takes place at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 22 at the HMV Empire in Coventry, England. Tickets are available here. The show will also stream at RevPro OnDemand.
Ricochet will defend his National Championship in a Blackjack Battle Royal match at next week’s AEW Revolution.
During Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision, it was announced that Ricochet would be defending his National title during the Zero Hour pre-show although the participants for the match have not yet been announced.
Zero Hour is scheduled to air on HBO Max, YouTube, and social channels at 7 pm Eastern, one hour before Revolution airs.
Ricochet, 37, has held the AEW National title since Full Gear when he won it to become the inaugural champion in a Casino Gauntlet match. Since then, he has made seven title defenses across AEW, CMLL, NJPW, and RevPro.
AEW Revolution will take place next Saturday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
AEW Revolution 2025 updated lineup | March 15, 2026 | Los Angeles
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita in a no time limit match
Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo
Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Kris Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match
AEW Trios Champions Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis defend against Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey & Mistico
Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm
Big Boom AJ vs. TBA
Zero Hour: Ricochet defends his AEW National title in a 21-man Blackjack Battle Royal
Ricochet has a new AEW National Championship defense scheduled for next month.
WrestlePro has revealed that Ricochet will put his title on the line against former NXT wrestler Sidney Akeem, who was known as Reggie in WWE. The match will take place on Saturday, April 4 at the Rahway Rec Center in Rahway, New Jersey.
Other wrestlers advertised for the show include The Acclaimed, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun, and Brian Myers.
Since becoming the inaugural AEW National Champion at Full Gear 2025 on November 22, Ricochet has defended the title in NJPW, RevPro, CMLL, and Ring of Honor.
He defended the championship last weekend at NJPW The New Beginning USA in Trenton, New Jersey, defeating Taiji Ishimori. Ricochet previously retained the title against CMLL’s Titan on the January 16 show at Arena Mexico. He also defended the championship against Nino Bryant at RevPro Uprising 2025 in Wales on December 14.
The new issue of the Observer is up on the site covering the following topics:
Road to WrestleMania including the booking changes and injury changes that have caused several changes of plans since they were first in place. We discuss the evolution of this year’s two main events.
We look at how the Royal Rumble show changed on the last day
Full Royal Rumble coverage
Status of different matches
AJ Styles and is this his final match
Business notes on the show
Plans for Elimination Chamber
How Royal Rumble did on Netflix
What changes in Nielsen have meant to the TV ratings and why this has happened, and how it will happen multiple more times in 2026 to a lesser degree
Has the increased in reported viewership helped pro wrestling in the TV world
Full UFC 325 coverage
Death of Frankie Cain/Great Mephisto, one of the most intriguing pro wrestling characters of the 60s and 70s with ties to many different worlds
Death of Bob Lueck, a former Stampede Wrestling headliner who was a CFL All-Star and how he was responsible for getting one of the most important and most influential wrestlers of all-time into the industry
The most detailed look at the ratings of the pro wrestling shows this past week including placings, demos and silliness
Box office record set
CMLL star arrested
AEW stars spend the week in CMLL
Major Arena Mexico shows coming
Reyes del Aire report
Hiromu Takahashi leaving
New Japan major show this week
Fantastica Mania cards announced
Best matches of 2025
AEW booking direction
New AEW signings
Advance ticket sales for all the major WWE & AEW shows
JBL gets a lot of flack for, like, bullying and was an assh*le or whatever. I’m not sure if we’re allowed to swear, but he gets a lot of that. It wasn’t really him. He was the person that would take me aside and go, ‘Hey kid, you’re doing a good job. You know what? Keep doing this, keep doing this, do this, this, this, this, and this, and this, this, but keep it up.’
The Miz really inspired me as a young person who was interested in professional wrestling, because I feel like he faced a lot of adversity in his career.
I just looked at what The Miz did, and how tough he was and how durable he’s been as a performer, and the heights that he’s got to by being a true professional.
He might be the most underrated wrestler of all time. And it’s weird to say that about a Grand Slam champion; the guy has done it all.
Rob Van Dam, Kane, and Road Dogg have been confirmed as guests for the WWE World convention in Las Vegas.
WWE broadcaster Megan Morant has added a new role as part of Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7 on SiriusXM.
Stacy Keibler wrote an emotional tribute to her friend James Van Der Beek after the “Dawson’s Creek” actor passed away at 48 years old following a battle with cancer.
And yeah, I want to go back to Japan. I think Japan is my favorite place I’ve wrestled. It’s one of my favorite places I’ve ever been, and I have a great connection out there. I know there are a lot of guys who are hungry out there, guys who would want to take a shot at this and take their opportunity.
Forbes asked Ricochet if he feels any pressure establishing the National Championship as a new title:
Yeah, I think especially when you have a roster as deep as AEW, it’s like everybody could be champion at any point in time. You know what I mean? That’s men, women, that’s everybody across the board. You honor everything.
At the end of the day, say what you want, we’re all prizefighters. We’re fighting for a prize. You’re fighting for something. So I think adding another prize to the pot is only good for the fighters, giving them something to fight for. Especially when you have so many guys from the bottom to the top, everybody is so good.
I do understand what people are saying, but at the same time, when the roster is that deep and everybody could be champion at any time, I think it’s okay. But there absolutely is pressure with a new title, being the inaugural champion, to make it mean something and to make its legacy mean something, especially with the pool of other championships that are out there to be fought for.
That’s what I think I’m doing best. I think I’m representing this great. I think I’m traveling the entire world, putting everybody on notice, and letting them know that not only will this be defended on AEW television, but it will be defended in your hometown as well.
I think that gives people outside of AEW an opportunity. It gives them something to fight for, something to really reach for. So if you think you know, step up. The thing is, anybody on your show could win. I just wrestled Starboy Charlie. When they say it’s slim to none, he still had a chance. He still had a chance.
I think that’s something that makes this different. And then, yeah, just the fact that it’s me. I think I have enough history to know that I’ve been an inaugural champion for multiple other companies, multiple other times. I’ve shown that I can be the one to make a first-ever championship mean something big.
I like the idea of being able to go and do different appearances, actually having face time with fans again. Being open to doing things in the fitness world and having some sort of collaboration or sponsorships. Doing things in acting whether it’s television or movies, little simple things. This is going to sound super silly, we watch these shows like America’s Got Talent or Is It Cake? [Ciampa’s daughter Willow] will say to me sometimes, ‘You should judge that!’ That would be awesome.
After the Knockout Brothers successfully retained the IWGP Tag Team titles against Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura on Wednesday, Ricochet and GOA appeared on the video screen. Ricochet said that they would be taking over New Beginning USA and called out Taiji Ishimori for an AEW National Championship match. Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona, meanwhile, said they smelled blood in the water and would be going after YUTO-ICE and Oskar.
Ricochet became the first-ever National Champion back at Full Gear, winning a Casino Gauntlet match. Since then he has defended the title in other promotions, defeating CMLL’s Titan back on January 16 and in ROH at Final Battle, defeating Dalton Castle. On the February 4 edition of Dynamite, he successfully defended the title against Jack Perry.
Here is the updated lineup for New Beginning USA:
NJPW New Beginning USA (February 27)
IWGP Global title: Yota Tsuji defends against Andrade El Idolo
AEW National title: Ricochet defends against Taiji Ishimori
IWGP Tag Team titles: Knockout Brothers defend against GOA
NJPW Strong Openweight title: Tomohiro Ishii defends against Boltin Oleg
IWGP Women’s title: Syuri defends against Athena
NJPW World TV title: El Phantasmo defends against Konosuke Takeshita
Ricochet published several social media posts on Wednesday that were critical of his time in WWE.
On the day he is set to defend his AEW National Championship against Jack Perry on Dynamite, Ricochet responded to several fans on social media regarding statements he recently made about his WWE run.
Responding to a fan who criticized him for not showing gratitude toward WWE, Ricochet wrote:
“They took my love of pro wrestling away. I’ll never forget how I felt walking into work every week. And that platform was only to make other look good at my expense. And I told them, I’d rather quit and go back to the indies and make whatever I’d make there than to come back next week.”
He later added, “And because of that THEN they made me IC and didn’t grant me my release.”
Responding to a post about him saying WWE “tarnished” his legacy, Ricochet wrote:
“Same thing happens to Balor, Shinsuke, Apollo and many others. WWE kills legacies and love of the sport. Its what they do best.”
Regarding championships he won during his time in WWE, Ricochet wrote, “These titles mean nothing. My title now is way more important nowadays.”
Ricochet also responded to a fan about the success of guys like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in WWE, writing: “Id argue El Generico has a better legacy than Sami Zayn.”
Some of Ricochet’s social media posts from Wednesday are available below:
They took my love of pro wrestling away. I'll never forget how I felt walking into work every week. And that platform was only to make other look good at my expense. And I told them, I'd rather quit and go back to the indies and make whatever I'd make there than to come back next…
Because it was a child hood dream. So they want to see for themselves. Plus, lots of people like fame. And it is the biggest company so you'll be more "famous."
Ricochet feels like he is back to being the wrestler he was before WWE.
During an appearance on The Mark Hoke Show, Ricochet said his time in WWE felt like “being blipped away into another universe” and that his call-up to Raw was the worst thing that happened to his wrestling career.
“The Ricochet that I am now is the same Ricochet that I was on the independent scene and in Japan, and doing the things that got me popular to where I am today,” he said on the show.
Ricochet compared his time on the WWE main roster to the Marvel Cinematic Universe storyline in which half of Earth’s population is erased from existence for five years before being brought back.
Ricochet continued:
“You’ve seen the Marvel movies? Thanos snaps, and there was a five-year blip of people (who) were just gone“
“That five years was like being blipped away into a different universe. It just wasn’t what I was doing, it wasn’t me. Coming back to AEW and finding that love, it’s like when Tony Stark finally defeated Thanos and all the people came back. That’s how I feel, Ricochet finally came back to what he was doing. And I feel like that five years was just blipped away.”
“I already know how this is going to sound, and I already know how people are going to take this, but I think that the day we got called up to Raw was the worst thing that happened to Ricochet’s wrestling career.”
Ricochet clarified that he was referring only to the wrestling side of his time in WWE, not personal memories such as meeting his wife.
“The trajection that I was on compared to the trajection that I got for those five years and how it completely changed the public’s image of Ricochet and who Ricochet was.”
“Specifically the wrestling side of it, that five years really tarnished Ricochet’s wrestling legacy.”
Ricochet was called up to the WWE main roster in early 2019. He was voted Most Underrated in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards in 2020 and 2021, and was named Best Flying Wrestler in 2011, 2014, and 2015. He was also named Best Flying Wrestler of the Decade for the 2010s, finishing ahead of Kota Ibushi and Will Ospreay.
Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite takes place in Las Vegas, where Ricochet and his wife Samantha Irvin live. Ricochet will defend his AEW National Championship against Jack Perry on the show. His appearance on The Mark Hoke Show is available below, with his comments about WWE cued in the video.
That's not me. That was a watered down, different universe version of me. Two completely different people.
