Jim Cornette Drags AEW for Ricochet’s Booking During 8/28 Dynamite Debut

Ricochet’s move from WWE to AEW has created a ton of hype, especially after his impressive debut at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium. He also had a successful debut on Dynamite last week but it appears Jim Cornette criticized AEW for how they booked Ricochet during the match.

During the August 28th edition of AEW Dynamite, Ricochet made his Dynamite debut as he squared off against Kyle Fletcher. It was a very competitive match that saw Ricochet pick up the win after a lot of struggle.

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Jim Cornette criticized AEW for how they booked Ricochet during his debut match on Dynamite last week. He pointed out that Ricochet, as a babyface, was up against Kyle, who is now a heel with a heel manager but still never wins. Cornette expected Ricochet to dominate in his debut, but instead, Ricochet barely won the match.

Cornette explained that both Kyle and Ricochet could be talented performers, but the match should have been booked differently. Ricochet, as the big new signing, needed to make a strong first impression on television. Cornette felt that AEW made a mistake by booking a competitive match between Ricochet and Kyle, especially when Ricochet should have been given someone he could easily defeat in his first appearance.

He also criticized the match’s placement as the main event, arguing that it wasn’t necessary for Ricochet’s debut. Cornette mentioned that if AEW wanted to protect Kyle, they shouldn’t have booked him against Ricochet in a match that required a clean win in just eight minutes. While both wrestlers are in great shape and performed athletically, Cornette was frustrated that the match was full of back-and-forth action, leaving him unsure of who AEW was pushing as the star.

Overall, Cornette was disappointed with how Ricochet’s debut was handled, noting that it wasn’t the right way to introduce a new star on television, especially against someone like Kyle, who has yet to win a match on TV.

“Ricochet is a babyface, and now Kyle is a heel with a heel manager, but he still never wins. I wrote at the top that he’s going to get smashed again here because it’s Ricochet’s TV debut. Well, that was incorrect—Ricochet won this by the skin of his teeth.

Both of these things can be true: Kyle can be a wonderful young talent that you want to bring along and give a little push to, and Ricochet can be the big new signing who needs to make a splash on television. Just don’t book this match this week if you can’t give Ricochet somebody that he can beat definitively in his first appearance on television in 8 minutes. You’re a f***** lunatic. That should have been the instruction to the guy: go out there, do some of yours***, let the guy cut you off, get a little steam on you, make a comeback, beat him with your finish. Give me seven or eight minutes—that’s all you needed. Don’t make it the main event. It’s the first time he’s been on television for you; it doesn’t have to be the main event. If you want to take care of Kyle, don’t book him with a guy that needs to beat somebody clean in eight f***** minutes.

Both guys are in shape, they’re both athletic—it was aggressive parkour very quickly, but at least they’re crisp with it. It’s not the awkward, just Indie bulls*** that you see. They’re high-level athletes doing phony wrestling, but I couldn’t tell which one they were pushing. Finally, Ricochet makes a comeback, and then didn’t beat him. Kyle took back over, and there was some more flipping, then Ricochet hit a dive on the floor, and then they had to talk to each other. The fans were silent. Ricochet went for a splash, Kyle raised his boots and gave Ricochet a Brain Buster and got a two count. They’ve changed the goddamn momentum again—what the f*** in his debut? Then Kyle beat him up some more, Ricochet fought back, hit a Death Valley Driver—two count. I mean, what the f***? Then he hit some kind of goddamn move—one, two, three.

I don’t know how they’ve been allowed to convince themselves that that’s the way you debut a new star on television, against a guy who, to my knowledge, has not won a match on television.”

Ricochet also explained why he feels leaving WWE for AEW was the right choice. Regardless, we’ll have to wait and see how Ricochet will fare now that he is officially All Elite, as fans are excited about his future in the company.

Do you believe AEW should have done better with Ricochet’s Dynamite debut? Let us know in the comments section below!

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