Mann signed with WWE in 2018 and defeated Fabian Aichner in his debut match for WWE's developmental brandNXT and later competed at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans for the NXT North American Championship, a title he would win 4 months later at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV. In February 2019, he started appearing on the main roster, making appearances on Raw and SmackDown. This led to him teaming with Aleister Black, winning the fourth annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and challenging for the Raw Tag Team Championship at Fastlane and the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 35. After officially moving to the main roster after WrestleMania 35, he won 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. In mid-2024, he became the first Speed Champion before leaving WWE at the end of June. He then signed with AEW that August.
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.[10] 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 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's Xtreme Warfare event for the vacant Deep South Heavyweight Championship, which Cabana Man Dan won.[11]
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.[12] Although he lost the match to Darin Corbin, he was involved in an infamous spot 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.[12]
Chikara (2006–2010)
Young Lions Cup champion (2006–2008)
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.[13] The following day, he teamed with Player Uno in a losing effort to Taylor and Cloudy.[14] 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 defeated Cheech, Retail Dragon and Shane Storm.[15] The following day, Ricochet again lost to Taylor at the event Talent Borrows; Genius Steals.[16]
On February 16, 2007, at the King of Trios event, Ricochet made his first challenge for the Young Lions Cup, but was unable to defeat Max Boyer for the title.[17] Two days later, he lost to Claudio Castagnoli.[18] 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.[19] On June 23, Ricochet won his first round match of the fifth Young Lions Cup tournament after he defeated Chrisjen Hayme.[20] Later that day, Ricochet won a six-way elimination match in the semi-finals to advance to the final.[20] The next day, Ricochet lost to Chuck Taylor for the vacant Young Lions Cup.[21] 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 Chikara.[22]
On October 27 at New Star Navigation, Ricochet, sporting a new haircut, new attire and a wrestling mask, returned to Chikara under the ring name Helios, where he finally defeated Taylor for the Young Lions Cup.[23] However, Taylor disputed Helios' win by claiming that Helios was actually Ricochet in disguise.[24] 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.[25] The following day at The Sordid Perils Of Everyday Existence, Helios again retained his title, this time against Fire Ant.[26]
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).[35] At the 2009 King of Trios tournament, The Future is Now defeated Team DDT (Kota Ibushi, KUDO and Michael Nakazawa)[36] and The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian and Escorpion Egipcio)[37] in the first and quarterfinal rounds, respectively, before losing to Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor)[38] 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[39] and The Future is Now defeating The Osirian Portal at The Bobliographon event the following day.[40]
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 (BDK).[41] 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.[42][43] 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.[44] 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.[45] This event also marked Helios' final appearance for Chikara as he began working regularly for both Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA.
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.[46] However Ricochet would lose at the next event on March 13, 2010 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.[47][48] After being defeated by Drake Younger in a four-way match on July 23, Ricochet ended his losing streak on September 11, by defeating Kyle O'Reilly.[49][50]
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.[51] At the following event on September 25, Ricochet teamed with Cima to defeat Speed Muscle (Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi) in a tag team match. After the match Cima gave Ricochet a spot in his Warriors International stable.[52] The following day Ricochet defeated Gran Akuma in a singles match.[53] 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.[54] At the following day's tapings of Freedom Fight 2010, Ricochet teamed with his Warriors International stable mate Genki Horiguchi and Austin Aries in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Ronin (Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann).[55]
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.[56] 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.[57] 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.[58] 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.[59]
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 was also on the line.[60] After the merger of Evolve and Dragon Gate USA, Ricochet took part in the final official professional wrestling match in the Asylum Arena, when he unsuccessfully challenged Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship at an Evolve event on January 14, 2012.[61] 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.[62] 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.[63] 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 AR Fox.[64] 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.[65] 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 and A. R. Fox.[66] On April 4, 2014, Ricochet defeated Gargano to win the Open the Freedom Gate Championship.[67] On November 16, 2014, during Dragon Gate USA's parent company WWNLive's tour of China, Ricochet lost the title back to Gargano.[68]
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2010–2018)
Early years (2010–2012)
On September 5, 2010, Ricochet made his debut for Southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), losing to Claudio Castagnoli in the first round of the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles, in what was called a "star making performance".[69] The following day, Ricochet participated in a six-man tag team match, where he, Johnny Goodtime and Rocky Romero were defeated by Fightin' Taylor Boys (Brian Cage, Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor), when Ricochet was pinned by his old rival, Chuck Taylor.[70] At the following event The Curse of Guerrilla Island, Ricochet picked up a major victory over the World Tag Team ChampionEl Generico, which would mark his first win in PWG.[71]
At Card Subject To Change III on April 9, 2011, Ricochet filled in for Paul London, who was unable to appear at the event, and teamed with El Generico in a match to defend the World Tag Team Championship against the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament winners The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). Ricochet and Generico lost the titles.[72] Even though 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).[73] At Eight, Ricochet teamed again with Generico in a loss to Alex Shelley and Roderick Strong.[74]
On January 29, 2012, Ricochet resumed his Dragon Gate tag team with Cima dubbed "Spike Mohicans" in a match, where they were defeated by the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma).[75] At Death To All But Metal, Ricochet lost to El Generico in a grudge match main event.[76] On September 1, Ricochet entered the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating PWG World Champion Kevin Steen in his first round match, following a distraction from his rival Brian Cage.[77] The following day, Ricochet defeated Roderick Strong in the quarter finals, before being eliminated by Michael Elgin in the semi-finals of the tournament.[78] As a result of his win over Steen, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged him for the World Championship in a three-way match, which also included Elgin.[79]
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.[80] On August 9 at PWG's tenth anniversary event titled Ten, 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).[81]
On January 31, 2014, the Inner City Machine Guns made it to the final of the 2014 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament by defeating The African American Wolves (AR Fox and ACH) and Unbreakable F'N Machines (Brian Cage and Michael Elgin), before losing to the Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent?).[82] On the first night of the Battle of Los Angeles on August 29, the Guns unsuccessfully challenged World's Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae and Joey Ryan) for the World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involving The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian).[83] However, Ricochet rebounded from the loss, Ricochet entered the namesake tournament by defeating Chris Sabin in the first round.[84] On August 31, Ricochet defeated T. J. Perkins in the quarterfinals, Kenny Omega in the semifinals, and Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong in the three-way final to win the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles.[85] As a result, Ricochet was granted a shot at the PWG World Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Kyle O'Reilly, at Black Cole Sun on December 12.[86]
On September 3, 2017, Ricochet defeated Jeff Cobb and Keith Lee in the final to win the 2017 Battle of Los Angeles, becoming the first two-time winner of the tournament. He would also turn heel later that night after winning he tournament telling Chuck Taylor he was coming for the PWG Championship.[91] On October 21, Ricochet defeated Chuck Taylor to win the PWG World Championship for the first time.[92] At Mystery Vortex V, in what would be Ricochet's final appearance for the promotion, he lost the PWG World Championship back to Taylor in a Guerrilla Warfare match.[93]
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.[96] On January 18 the new group was named Blood Warriors.[96] On February 10 Cima, Naruki Doi and Gamma defeated World–1 representatives Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk and 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 Open the Brave Gate Championship.[97] The title match between Pac and Ricochet took place on March 1 and ended with Pac retaining his title.[98] 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.[99] On July 17, Ricochet and Cima defeated Dragon Kid and Pac of rival group Junction Three to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship.[100] On November 19, Ricochet defeated Pac for the Open the Brave Gate Championship.[101] 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 Open the Dream Gate Championship.[102]
On January 19, 2012, Akira Tozawa took over the leadership of Blood Warriors, 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.[103] 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.[104] On May 6, Ricochet lost the Open the Brave Gate Championship to Dragon Kid in his fourth defense.[105] On May 25, 2013, Ricochet defeated Shingo Takagi in the final to win the 2013 King of Gate tournament.[106] 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.[107] On July 21, Ricochet and Naruki Doi defeated Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk for the Open the Twin Gate Championship.[108] They lost the title to Dragon Kid and K-Ness on August 30.[109] 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.[110][111]
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.[1][112] Ricochet made his first successful title defense just four days later against another stablemate, Uhaa Nation.[113] After a two-month reign, Ricochet lost the Open the Dream Gate Championship to Yamato in his second defense on May 5.[114] Ricochet returned to Dragon Gate during the summer of 2015. On July 20, he and Matt Sydal unsuccessfully challenged Naruki Doi and Yamato for the Open the Twin Gate Championship.[115] Ricochet returned to Dragon Gate two years later on November 3, 2017, defeating Eita. He wrestled his Dragon Gate farewell match five days later.[116]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2013–2017)
On May 3, 2013, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) announced Ricochet as a participant in the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[117] 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 and Taka Michinoku).[118] 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.[119]
Ricochet returned to take part in the 2014 Best of the Super Juniors tournament on May 30,[120] this time advancing to the semi-finals, after finishing second in his block with a record of five wins and two losses.[121] On June 8, Ricochet first defeated Ryusuke Taguchi in the semi-finals and then 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.[122] With his win, Ricochet became the youngest person to win the tournament and the second American to do so.[123][124] On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[125][126]
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.[127] Ricochet received his title match on August 16, but was defeated by Kushida.[128] Ricochet returned to NJPW on October 24, when he and Matt Sydal entered the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) in their first round match.[129] On November 1, Ricochet and Sydal defeated The Young Bucks to advance to the final of the tournament.[130] On November 7 at Power Struggle, Ricochet and Sydal defeated Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) in the final to win the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament.[131]
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.[132] On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Ricochet and Sydal defeated The Young Bucks and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) in a three-way match to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.[133] They lost the title to Roppongi Vice on April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016,[134] before regaining the title on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016.[135] 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 Vader, who compared the match to a "gymnastics routine".[136][137][138] 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.[139] 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.[140]
On July 3, Ricochet and Sydal teamed up with Satoshi Kojima to defeat The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[141] They were stripped of the title on September 25 due to Sydal failing to make a scheduled title defense at Destruction in Kobe because of travel issues.[142] That same day, Ricochet and Kojima, now teaming with David Finlay, defeated Adam Cole and The Young Bucks to regain the vacant title.[143] This led to a match on October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling, where Ricochet and Finlay unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[144] Ricochet, Finlay and Kojima lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) in a four-team gauntlet match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017.[145] 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.[146] On April 29, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[147] 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.[148] Ricochet then entered the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, where, despite a win over reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi,[149] he failed to advance to the final with a record of four wins and three losses.[150]
Ricochet then formed a new tag team named "Funky Future" with Ryusuke Taguchi under the banner of Taguchi Japan.[151] On August 13, the two defeated The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[152] They lost the title to Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) on October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling.[153] Following the match, Ricochet took responsibility for the loss and thanked both NJPW and Taguchi Japan.[154] His mannerisms were interpreted as meaning he had wrestled his final NJPW match.[155] On November 8, Ricochet confirmed he had wrestled his final match in Japan.[116]
Lucha Underground (2014–2017)
In September 2014, it was reported that Mann had signed with the El Rey Network's new television series, Lucha Underground.[156] He assumed a masked character by the ring name of Prince Puma.[3] 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.[157] On the January 7, 2015, episode (taped October 5, 2014),[158] Puma defeated 19 other wrestlers to win the Aztec Warfare battle royal and become the inaugural Lucha Underground Champion.[159] Puma made his first televised defense of the Lucha Underground Championship on the January 14, 2015, episode of Lucha Underground against Fénix.[160] Puma then entered a rivalry with Cage, which led to a title match between the two on the March 25 episode, where Puma retained his title.[161] On April 19 at Ultima Lucha, Lucha Underground's season one finale, Puma lost the Lucha Underground Championship to Mil Muertes.[162] After failing to regain the title, he formed a team with 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 Cage, and Johnny Mundo, in a qualifying match, they captured the titles last eliminating Fenix, P. J. Black, and 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.[163] With WWE 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".[164] Mann, however, decided to opt out of his contract.[165] 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 ChampionPentagón 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.[166] 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.[167] 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".[168] The final episode of the third season aired on October 18, 2017, sixteen months after being taped.[169]
On the April 6, 2020 episode of Raw, Ricochet formed a tag team with Cedric Alexander, defeating Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan.[201] Ricochet and Alexander feuded with The Hurt Business (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.[202] On the October 12 episode of Raw, Ricochet defeated Alexander by disqualification, ending their storyline.[203]
Intercontinental Champion (2021–2022)
At Elimination Chamber on February 21, Ricochet lost a fatal four-way match to determine who would fill in the vacant spot at the event for the United States Championship later that night.[204] At WrestleMania Backlash on May 16, Ricochet accepted United States Champion Sheamus' open challenge for a non-title match, which he lost.[205] 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.[206] At the event on July 18, he was unsuccessful as the match was won by Big E.[207] On the September 27 episode of Raw, Ricochet faced Reggie for the 24/7 Championship, but the match ended in a no contest.[208]
As part of the 2021 Draft, Ricochet was drafted to the SmackDown brand.[209][210] In October, Ricochet entered the King of the Ring tournament, where he lost to Xavier Woods in the first round.[211] At Survivor Series on November 21, Ricochet participated in a 25-man dual-branded battle royal, which was won by Omos.[212] On the following episode of SmackDown, he failed to win a Black Friday Invitational battle royal, where the winner would become the No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship.[213] On the December 24 (taped December 17)[214] episode of SmackDown, Ricochet competed in a gauntlet match for No. 1 contendership to the Intercontinental Championship, where he was the last person eliminated by Sami Zayn.[215] At the Day 1 pre-show on January 1, 2022, Ricochet and Cesaro lost to Sheamus andRidge Holland.[216] At Royal Rumble on January 29, Ricochet entered at No. 12, where he and other competitors eliminated Omos before he was eliminated by Happy Corbin.[217]
Ricochet won the Intercontinental Championship when he defeated Sami Zayn on the March 4 episode of SmackDown with help from Johnny Knoxville.[218] He retained the title against Zayn in a rematch the following week.[219] On the WrestleMania edition of SmackDown on April 1, he successfully defended the title against Angel and Humberto in a triple threat match.[220] On the April 15 episode of SmackDown, he retained the title against Jinder Mahal,[221] and against Shanky on April 29.[222] On the June 10 episode of SmackDown, Ricochet lost the Intercontinental Championship to Gunther, ending his reign at 98 days.[223]
He challenged for the title in a rematch on the June 24 episode of SmackDown in a losing effort.[224][225]
On the August 30 episode of NXT, Ricochet returned to the brand, confronting Carmelo Hayes.[226] A match between the two for the NXT North American Championship was made official for Worlds Collide on September 4,[227] where Ricochet was defeated by Hayes.[228] On the December 2 episode of SmackDown, Ricochet won the SmackDown World Cup, defeating Santos Escobar in the final and becoming the No. 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship.[229] Two weeks later, on December 16, Ricochet faced Gunther in a rematch for the title in a losing effort.[230]
Final storylines (2023–2024)
At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Ricochet entered the Royal Rumble match at #28, but was eliminated by Austin Theory. During the match, Ricochet and Logan Paul performed simultaneous springboard clotheslines at each other from opposite sides of the ring and collided in midair, which went viral across social media. He soon began to team up with Braun Strowman, winning a tournament to challenge the Undisputed WWE Tag Team ChampionsThe Usos. On the February 10 episode of SmackDown, they were defeated by The Usos. On Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, Ricochet participated in the Men's Tag Team Showcase, teaming with Strowman, but lost.
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Ricochet and Strowman were drafted to the Raw brand, however, Strowman would later undergo neck surgery that took him out of action until late-April 2024.[231][232] On the May 29 episode of Raw, Ricochet defeated The Miz to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank.[233] At the event, he lost to eventual winner, Damian Priest. In the coming weeks on Raw, Ricochet and Logan Paul developed a feud which culminated in a match at SummerSlam. At the event, Paul defeated Ricochet by way of using brass knuckles he was given behind the referee's back. On April 26, 2024, Ricochet won a tournament to become the inaugural Speed Champion,[234] which aired on tape delay on May 3, the date WWE officially began his reign.[235] He held the title until the June 7 taping of Speed, which aired on June 14, where he lost it to Andrade, ending his reign at 42 days.[236][237]
On June 8 it was reported that Ricochet notified WWE that he would be leaving the company when his contract expired later that summer.[238] He was written off television on the June 10 episode of Raw, when he was attacked by Bron Breakker, leaving the company on June 30.[239][240]
All Elite Wrestling (2024–present)
On August 22, 2024, it was reported by Fightful Select that Ricochet had signed a multi-year deal with All Elite Wrestling (AEW),[241][242] making his debut three days after at All In as a surprise entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match, but was unsuccessful in winning the match.[243] His first feud in AEW was with Konosuke Takeshita, after Takeshita attacked him and AEW International ChampionWill Ospreay during their match for the title on the fifth anniversary episode of AEW Dynamite on October 2.[244] On October 12 at WrestleDream, Ricochet was unsuccessful in capturing the International Championship in a three-way match, which was won by Takeshita.[245] On November 23 at Full Gear, Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged Takeshita for his title.[246] The next day, Ricochet was announced as a participant in the 2024 Continental Classic, where he was placed in the Gold league.[247] During the tournament, Ricochet began developing a more cocky attitude and began cheating to win matches, teasing a potential heel turn.[248][249][250] Ricochet finished the tournament at the top of his league with 10 points and advanced to the playoff stage on December 28 at Worlds End, where he lost to Kazuchika Okada in the semi-finals. After losing to Okada, Swerve Strickland made an appearance and passed out toilet paper to the audience to throw at Ricochet.[251][252]
On January 1, 2025 at Fight for the Fallen, Ricochet viciously attacked Strickland, cementing his heel turn.[253]
In November 2021, Mann confirmed his relationship with Samantha Irvin on social media.[258] On January 10, 2023, the couple became engaged.[259] Mann also has a son from a previous relationship.[260] He was in previous relationships with fellow professional wrestlers Tessa Blanchard and Kacy Catanzaro.[261]
^"News/Rumors". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. June 8, 2014. Archived from the original on August 9, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2014. now he's the youngest ever winner of the New Japan Best Of Super Juniors tournament.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 19, 2011). "Open the Brave Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 2, 2014). "Open the Dream Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 26, 2010). "Open the Triangle Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 17, 2011). "Open the Twin Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 4, 2014). "Open the Freedom Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 11, 2011). "Open the United Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 8, 2020.