Ricochet On If He Would Join WWE's Cruiserweight Division, NXT And NJPW Goals, His WWE Tryout, More
Former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Ricochet, AKA Prince Puma, joined Sean Waltman on X-Pac 1,2,360 this week. During the interview, he gave an update on tag partner Matt Sydal and called Jim Cornette a "bitter old man." You can watch the full interview in the video above or download the podcast version on iTunes, they sent us these highlights:
How he feels about criticism of his wrestling style:
"I don't personally care. I think a lot of that stuff stems from that match I had with [Will] Ospreay in Japan. The thing is, that's such a small part of what I can do. I think other than Jim Cornette, who's just you know a bitter old man who wants viewings, other than people like that guy who are just bitter, I could probably find whatever fan out there and show them some match that I've done that they would enjoy."
Ricochet says he wants to work for WWE, but may not be ready yet:
"I have some stuff in New Japan I still want to do. I really want to be IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. I want that belt more than I want any belt in professional wrestling right now. I really want that belt. I really still enjoy Japan. I love going to New Japan. It's great."
Would he mind being put in the WWE Cruiserweight division?
"If that's what they had me do I would make the best of it. But I really want to just go a different path. I would like to do the same route that Finn Balor went, or Kevin Owens went, or even now [Samoa] Joe. I'd like to go to NXT, be NXT Champion."
His WWE tryout:
"It was hard, maybe one of the hardest things I've ever done, because it was just cardio, cardio. They really try to test you and make sure they're getting some athletes, you know what I mean? So I said, anybody who does that they can do anything, because it was hard."
What it's like to hang out with girlfriend Tessa Blanchard's father, Tully Blanchard:
"He takes me golfing. It's really cool. I'm horrible at golf, but I love to golf because it's fun...Just everyday stuff. Like we went out to P.F. Chang's last night, I think. I was like, I'm eating P.F. Chang's with Tully Blanchard. It's funny to me. I think it's awesome."
What the future holds for Matt Sydal, Ricochet's tag partner for two IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship wins:
"The thing is with him, he is the most positive guy. Hanging out with him in Japan was one of my favorite experiences, because he's so positive and it just rubs off. His brother is the same way. It just rubs off on you. It makes you happy and it makes you positive. So with him I think literally anything is possible. I wouldn't be surprised anyway. Just his mentality, the way that he thinks, is so forward and positive that I don't think anything is going to hold him back for anything."
His experience working with Rey Mysterio:
"He gave me his mask from the match we had on TV. That's his mask that he wore. He gave it to me and I was like, trying not to cry in front of my hero."