{"id":93718,"date":"2026-05-09T02:39:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T02:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/how-ricochet-became-the-anime-villain-of-all-elite-wrestling\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T02:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T02:39:04","slug":"how-ricochet-became-the-anime-villain-of-all-elite-wrestling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/how-ricochet-became-the-anime-villain-of-all-elite-wrestling\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ricochet Became the Anime Villain of All Elite Wrestling"},"content":{"rendered":"


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One of the realest things that Last Week Tonight<\/em> host John Oliver has ever said off the cuff is \u201cProfessional wrestling is better than the things you like.\u201d Every time I see my other love, anime, spill into the squared circle, that boast only grows stronger. As a lifelong fan of both, I\u2019ve had my fair share of pop-offs watching wrestlers sneak nods to my favorite shows in their pay-per-view ring gear, movesets, and character work. Still, it\u2019s rare to see a wrestler go all in making anime, not just an Easter egg, but the core of their in-ring persona, the way All Elite Wrestling\u2018s Ricochet has with his heel faction, the Demand.<\/p>\n

Professional wrestling, like anime, is theater with a body count. There are heroes (\u201cfaces\u201d), villains (\u201cheels\u201d), and decades of lore to draw from (\u201ckayfabe\u201d). Likewise, the line separating the mass appeal of the two media has basically become translucent over the last seven years for the \u201csickos\u201d watching AEW Dynamite. Still, whenever these crossovers do happen, they tend to be a blink-and-you\u2019ll-miss-it treat for the \u201csmark\u201d weebs on your couch, at the bar, in the crowd, or online to whisper, \u201cOh, that\u2019s a One Piece<\/em> thing,\u201d to folks outside of the know to grasp why Ricochet and his tag team partners dressing up like admirals from Eiichiro Oda\u2019s magnum opus is the coolest thing ever.<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/t.co\/EJ2AgbMX2o pic.twitter.com\/j7wicoi46d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lightskin Kingpin (@KingRicochet) May 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Not everyone has time to be both a wrestling fan and an anime buff. So io9 spoke with Ricochet to get fans in on the ground floor about the anime inspirations that shape his heelish persona, the heroes and villains he folded into his ring psychology, and his personal ranking of the greatest anime of all time.<\/p>\n

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AEW Stars visited the @Crunchyroll<\/a> Studios in Dallas during our Collision residency!<\/p>\n

Hear @KingRicochet<\/a>, @AthenaPalmer_FG<\/a>, @BountyKeith<\/a>, @GREATBLACKOTAKU<\/a> + @SuaveMansoor<\/a>‘s watchlists, the characters they think would fit in AEW + more!<\/p>\n

Tell us who you think fits in AEW! \ud83d\udc47 pic.twitter.com\/yjpezxnOJ2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Isaiah Colbert, io9: All Elite Wrestling has garnered the reputation of being one of the most anime-literate locker rooms in all of professional wrestling. From your vantage point, how deep does the anime fandom run backstage? Are there any wrestlers fans wouldn\u2019t think are diehard anime fans? What\u2019s that hierarchy look like with you in the mix?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ricochet:<\/strong> What\u2019s funny is someone like Toa [Liona], my partner in the Demand, he\u2019s huge into anime. He came out with me, and we wore the jackets and stuff. That\u2019s not just my idea. He\u2019s someone who puts me on a lot of anime. He put me on Sentenced to Be a Hero<\/em>, Spy x Family<\/em>, and a couple of different ones I can name. I put him on to To Be Hero X<\/em>. He\u2019s big into it. There are a couple of guys backstage who I talk to, like Konosuke Takeshita. He and I talk a lot about what\u2019s coming up and stuff that we\u2019ve watched.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s growing\u2014the similarities between the two. You can draw inspiration from anime and apply it to wrestling because of the stories, the characters, the overcoming, and even the evil villains. I draw a lot from the villains. I think there\u2019s a lot of stuff you can use from it now more than ever.<\/p>\n

io9: When did anime stop being just something you watched for fun and start becoming a creative foundation for how you wrestle, move, and present yourself in AEW?
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Ricochet: <\/strong>A couple of years ago, for sure, but especially more recently now that I\u2019m able to use more of my ideas rather than be told what to do. Back in the day, I would draw inspiration from Power Rangers. I had yellow, pink, red, and blue gear, all the same design. And then I did Nightwing and Batman Beyond<\/em>-inspired gear. I\u2019ve always used what I like to watch as inspiration. But now, more than ever, we\u2019re able to do things like that.<\/p>\n