Former WWE IC Champion's in-ring return to major promotion after 7 years officially confirmed
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricochet is set to make his official in-ring return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) after seven years. The last time he appeared for the Japanese promotion was in October 2017.
The Human Highlight Reel recently made a surprise appearance at the NJPW Power Struggle 2024 event and attacked Zack Sabre Jr. after the latter successfully defended his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shingo Takagi. The Future of Flight also challenged the 37-year-old star for a title match at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5, 2025, at the Tokyo Dome.
NJPW recently officially announced the match between Ricochet and Zack Sabre Jr. on social media. This was the first match that was made official for the upcoming event.
Ricochet was associated with NJPW for four years. He joined the promotion in 2013 and left in 2017. He is a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and a three-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, as well.
What motivated Ricochet to jump ship from WWE to AEW?
Ricochet recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet during which The Future of Flight revealed why he signed with AEW following his departure from WWE. He felt that the Tony Khan-led company was a better platform for him and that it would also help him rejuvenate his career:
"Again, at the end of the day, I wasn’t going to go to the highest bidder, I was just going to go to whoever was going to make me feel good and ignite that spark again, because I felt like that fire that was burning inside of me was still there, but it was just like little embers that needed that gasoline on it to really make it ignite. At the time, I felt like AEW could be the gasoline for my fire. Since being there, I feel like I made the right choice."
The 36-year-old star left WWE in June 2024. He then signed a deal with AEW and debuted at the All In 2024 Pay-Per-View in London, England.