Thoughts on Ricochet

It was a tumultuous start to the week on Wrestling Twitter after a former AEW National Champion responded to a troll with, "I'm glad you got MS (Multiple Sclerosis)." This mean-spirited, classless tweet reportedly may cost him his job (more on that below), and comes after two recent incidents where both of AEW's tippity top babyfaces proudly posed in pictures with two UK wrestlers accused of sexual misconduct during the 2020 #SpeakingOut movement. 

I have some thoughts on those particular situations, plus my view on "getting heat" in 2026:

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The tweet was beyond poor taste...

Let's start with the obvious: it was a classless, overly harsh response from Ricochet, and I wouldn't bother defending it. Ricochet is a highly paid and decorated performer whose stock was rising in the promotion he now calls home, yet he thought it was reasonable to respond to very mild trolling by taunting someone with MS; hell, he thought it was reasonable to hit "send" and share the sentiment with his thousands of followers. How can you not question this man's decision-making ability? 

Plus, it makes Ricochet look extremely soft because the tweet he responded to was so milquetoast compared to some of the truly horrendous things said on Twitter. The person wrote, "his acting hasn't improved," accompanied by a laughing emoji. That's it. That's what made Ricochet respond with, "I'm glad you got MS." Please. 

Ricochet defends his tweet

Ricochet's comments understandably provoked outrage amongst some of his/AEW fans, so what does he do? He doubles down with a follow-up Tweet: "Its soooo hilarious that the amount of little bitches 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 bitches can’t take it when I do it back to people. Fucking pussies, everywhere." 

I can understand his ire. He's not only a public figure or a "celebrity," but a professional wrestler who has been very outspoken regarding his time in WWE. You know his above-statement is likely true, because it's Wrestling Twitter. Of course, he has gotten some abhorrent, vile sentiment flung his way.

Still, it's not a justification to throw someone's chronic disease in their face. Here's an unfortunate truth: celebrities and athletes will always be held to a higher standard than their fans and haters. Period. Is it unfair? Absolutely, at least to a certain extent. He's still a human being with emotions and feelings, and some of the commentary surrounding him and other pro wrestlers can be absolutely vile; still, he looks worse for defending his tweet after seeing all the backlash. 

There are ways to handle your haters as a celebrity/public figure, but this simply wasn't one of them. This was a public figure who portrayed a heel on television and extended the persona to his social media accounts, trying to justify reveling in someone else's disease. No bueño. 

Ricochet's apology

Ricochet would later issue an apology: "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."

A brief, but satisfactory apology in my view. He explained why he was so angry, acknowledged his mistake, apologized, and vowed to do better in the future. That's all one can ask of anyone who's made a very public mistake. I wouldn't argue too hard if you felt the apology was insincere or forced, because there's probably an element of truth to it. He did the bare minimum, and shouldn't be celebrated for doing so, but at least he apologized. 

Do these wrestlers understand the state of the world?

It's extraordinary to me whenever a celebrity or athlete commits such unforced errors that could affect their livelihoods. I don't understand seeing the state of the United States economy - and, really, the state of the entire world - and risking your job so you can own some jabroni on Twitter. Hangman's picture with Marty Scurll and Ospreay's with Paul Robinson fit in this category, too, even though I don't believe their jobs were ever in danger.

It's just bad optics that could come back to harm you. WBD has a laughably inconsistent policy when it comes to the behavior of certain AEW talent, and it would be entirely expected if WBD decides to shit-can him. Hangman and Ospreay could get themselves into further hot water if they continue to stubbornly associate with men accused of sexual misconduct, too. 

It simply isn't worth your job, and I hope they come to that understanding sooner rather than later. Here's another unfortunate truth: a lot of wrestlers don't believe every single narrative born out of the Speaking Out movement, or they personally don't believe the alleged sex crimes fit the punishment of being blackballed from working AEW.

I don't know if Hangman or Ospreay feels that way, but they are absolutely guilty by association. Your fans have one request of you: please stop associating with alleged sex pests and posting about it on social media. Hangman and Ospreay may have the fans' good graces, but that can very quickly disappear. Stop playing with fire, or else you will get badly burned. 

Ricochet's future

I don't think Ricochet deserves to be fired. I understand a lengthy suspension, but firing him is too harsh. I saw a ton of pearl-clutching from the usual suspects, and to them I say: fuck you. This isn't comparable to the scandals (that should be) plaguing the WWE. 

I hope Ricochet comes back and stays the fuck off Twitter. He doesn't need it. Hell, most talent shouldn't be on social media for myriad reasons. 

It's time for you to log off. 

Heat in 2026

I really dislike how we view a wrestler "getting heat." For instance, it's "brilliant" or "funny" whenever Christian Cage brings up someone's dead father in a promo, yet Ricochet's tweet deserves this level of scrutiny? 

Wrestling fans have always been fickle, and I think it's actually gotten far worse. They want someone to be the nastiest prick alive, until they actually portray that persona. "No, no, no, I don't want you to be that heelish!" 

There are so many things that have fallen into the pro wrestling abyss (not the wrestler!), and how to get heat as a heel is one of them.