After flying through the Japanese skies, dominating temples, and flipping his way through every major indie promotion in the world, there was only ever one place that Ricochet would end up by 2018, WWE. For years he was considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the world to never wrestle for WWE, but that all changed when he put pen-to-paper on a contract that would give him the chance to show the biggest audience imaginable what all the fuss was about. 

While not technically his “WWE NXT” debut as he wrestled against the likes of Buddy Murphy, Fabian Aichner, and Riddick Moss in dark matches and at live events between January and March, the six-man Ladder Match to determine the inaugural NXT North American Champion at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans would be the first time that the WWE Universe would get to see “The One and Only.” There was one problem for Ricochet, or should I say five problems as the rest of the field was full of “NXT” names who were firing on all cylinders at the time. 

Adam Cole was the man who knew best in the match and was on the cusp of dominating “NXT” as the leader of The Undisputed Era. Lars Sullivan was being built up as an unstoppable beast with no known weaknesses. The Velveteen Dream was one of the most charismatic performers in the business at the time and had the ability in the ring to back it up. Killian Dain was the muscle of SAnitY and was becoming the surprise breakout star of the unhinged stable, and EC3 might have also been making his WWE return in this match, but he was riding the wave of momentum he created for himself by being one of the biggest modern stars for Impact Wrestling, now once again known as TNA.

Before I rewatched this match, I remembered it as being a showcase for Ricochet first and a multi-man Ladder Match second, and while Ricochet does show off more than most in this one, everyone does an exceptional job. Dain and Sullivan are the brutes who can give as much as they can take, Cole and EC3 are the egotistical jerks who also get their moments in the sun, Dream is the wildcard who swans his way through this match, and all five men produce genuinely awe-inspiring moments throughout.

With that said, Ricochet really is the star of the show. After all, the first move he performs is a Springboard Shooting Star Press to the outside, he’s not in WWE to be another name on the roster, he’s there to be a show-stealer. The Moonsault to the outside whilst being tipped off the ladder is incredible, every time he goes to the top rope you are on the edge of your seat, and even the bumps he takes are nasty enough to think there’s no way he can get up. It’s Cole who walks away with the win, but Ricochet was the man everyone was talking about after this modern classic.