Ricochet reveals why winning WWE's SmackDown World Cup is so important to him
Ricochet has vowed to win the Intercontinental Championship after advancing to WWE's SmackDown World Cup finals next week.
He squared off against Braun Strowman tonight in the semifinals of the tournament. The Monster of All Monsters was the heavy favorite in the match, but Ricochet got some help from an unlikely source.
Intercontinental Champion Gunther distracted Braun Strowman as Imperium hopped on the ring apron. The latter fought them off, but Ricochet capitalized on the distraction and rolled him up to advance to the finals. After the match, Imperium attacked Braun Strowman, but Ricochet helped him. The men shook hands and posed in the ring as Imperium retreated.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Ricochet in a WWE Digital Exclusive after SmackDown went off the air. The High-Flyer praised Santos Escobar by referring to him as a "bad dude" and is excited to bring their rivalry to the WWE Universe.
"Nobody is going to stop me from winning the SmackDown World Cup," said Ricochet. "Santos [Escobar] is a bad dude himself... We've known each other for a long time in multiple different universes. We have yet to face each other here in WWE and what a way to do that." [01:42 - 02:00]
Ricochet added that the Intercontinental Championship means the world to him, and winning it back provides a chance to redeem himself.
"It means the world. It means everything to me. It was devastating when I lost it. So that is another key motivating factor behind all of this. It is not just to win for America, to win the SmackDown World Cup, and to just win in general for Ricochet. Because we know Ricochet's past, this hasn't been the best couple of years for him so this is a chance for me to redeem myself and show that I belong here," he added. [02:36 - 03:02]
.@KingRicochet makes it clear he is ready for @EscobarWWE as he focuses on getting another opportunity to represent the USA and then going on to regain his #ICTitle from @Gunther_AUT. #SmackDown https://t.co/ATeJXKZUph
Ricochet wants WWE Superstar to respect him
Ricochet recently reacted to a controversial tweet by Braun Strowman after his victory over Omos at Crown Jewel.
The Monster of All Monsters boasted about the victory while poking fun at "flippy" wrestlers. Ricochet, Mustafa Ali, and other wrestlers responded to the since-deleted tweet.
Speaking to Cathy Kelley, Ricochet said that his goal was to make Braun respect him after their match tonight.
"I was going to go into this match no matter what to make sure that Braun Strowman respected me at least," said Ricochet. "He can think what he wants, he has his own opinions, but I was going to come in tonight, knowing very well that as soon as we leave this match he is going to respect me. Of course, it wasn't my idea to have Imperium come out, and obviously, it wasn't because they beat me up." [00:28 - 00:49]
STROWMAN.
RICOCHET.
Who will advance to the finals?
#Smackdown #WWE https://t.co/5knC8vidAi
Gunther defeated Ricochet to capture the Intercontinental Championship and beat him again in the rematch. It will be interesting to see which superstar wins the SmackDown World Cup next week to face the Ring General down the line.
Who do you want to see Gunther defend the title against? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit WWE and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.