Ricochet Says He Is Going To Focus More On His Character, Talks Getting More Comfortable On The Mic
Recently on E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness, 'The Rocket-Strappers' were joined by NXT's Ricochet. Among many other things, Ricochet talked about athletic aspects of pro wrestling coming easily to him, looking forward to developing his character, and getting more comfortable with promos.
During the interview, Ricochet admitted that though things come easy to him from an athletic standpoint, he struggled with ring psychology up until last year.
"In terms of athleticism, I always felt like I kind of caught on to the athletic part of it pretty well, but I was trash until last year." Ricochet explained, "it really took me a while to grasp the concept of everything and even as far as athletically, I don't know. Things kind of come easy."
According to Ricochet, he is excited to be in NXT partly because he has never had the opportunity to work on his character on the indies. 'The High Flying Ace' suggested that some people liked his Lucha Underground character, Prince Puma, more than Ricochet because of the character development that took place on Lucha Underground.
"One of the main reasons I was excited about coming here to NXT is because I know they focus on [character development] and not just in TV tapings, but in general they focus on that sort of thing." Ricochet continued, "so that was one of the main reasons I was really excited to come here because, before coming here, I was always just kind of the 'dream match' guy. Like, Ricochet versus this guy and this guy, 'I can't wait for him to wrestle this guy'. Like, to give some guy a good match, do you know what I mean? That's who I was. And so now I'm excited coming [to NXT]. A lot of people message me, or Instagram, or tweet, whatever, and they'll talk about how, like, they liked Prince Puma more than they like Ricochet. And I feel, because I didn't really change my in-ring style, so I feel like it has to do with the story-driven connection. So I feel like that's why I'm excited to come to NXT because, obviously, the story is the biggest part of the match, whether it is before, during, or after. So I feel really excited about that, coming here."
Additionally, Ricochet indicated that he will start developing his character on NXT TV more now.
"I feel that [character development] is something that I'm going to focus on because I've been thrown into the mix, kind of, since my debut. It has just been, 'okay, we'll pull you in this way' and there hasn't really been a reason about who I am, where I come from, or why I am where I am. There hasn't been any [explanation]." Ricochet added, "some of [the NXT audience] know me from my indie days, but there [are] going to be a lot of people that don't know who I am, or where I come from, or whatever, what I do, or why I'm here. So that's something I think we're going to try to start focusing on moving forward."
With respect to promo skills, Ricochet acknowledged that he is starting to feel more comfortable on the mic and confident in what he's saying. 'Mr. High Fly' stated that he is more comfortable cutting an in-ring promo than doing a backstage segment.
"I starting to feel more comfortable." Ricochet divulged, "I feel like my biggest thing is just the comfortability of it, like to be comfortable. Do you know what I mean? Like, be comfortable and to, like mean what I say. Confidence is what I'm looking for! Comfortable and confident in the things you say. I feel like for me that's the hardest part, the confidence. But I feel like when I'm out in a live crowd situation I'm like 10-times more comfortable and confident cutting a promo. But then, like, backstage, camera in your face, 'okay, go!' That's when I'm like, 'oh, I've got no emotion to go off of.' I can't feel the crowd."
Ricochet claimed that he needs more experience to get comfortable on the mic.
"I feel like mine is a matter of more repetition. Because, like, each time I do one, people say, 'I can tell you're getting more comfortable out there.' So for me, that's good. All I need is to know that every time I go out there, I'm getting at least a little better. Do you know what I mean? So that's good. As long as I'm still progressing, a little better is good for me." Ricochet said, "that's the thing, you have to believe it. If you're not confident in the things that you're saying right there, the fans are going to notice that."
Heels and quads. If you use any of the quotations that appear in this article, please credit E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness