Ricochet Explains Why Fans Didn’t Like Transition To NXT 2.0

Ricochet has given insight on why some wrestling fans didn’t really welcome the NXT 2.0 change over the last year.

In September 2021, WWE decided to change the NXT brand from the traditional black & gold colors that fans were used to for nearly a decade to a more colorful NXT 2.0 product. They released some veterans on the roster and focused on featuring younger talent like Bron Breakker, Cora Jade, Grayson Waller, Tony D’Angelo, Carmelo Hayes and others.

While wrestlers like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Adam Cole, Keith Lee and others helped make NXT feel special to WWE fans, they were not part of the vision of NXT 2.0 that former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted.

It was on the September 13, 2022 episode of NXT when a new white & gold logo with a black background was shown. Now that Triple H is in charge of the WWE product on Raw & Smackdown as the Chief Content Officer, he has made the call to bring NXT back to what it was while Shawn Michaels is one of the main bookers of the NXT product.

Ricochet is a man that got his WWE start in NXT where he had a lot of success as a former NXT North American Champion before moving on to the main roster. In an interview with NBC Sports Boston, Ricochet talked about why fans were not sure about the change in 2021 and that timing may have been an issue.

“I think, again in this business, it’s forever. It doesn’t stop. They’re just trying something new, something different, and I think it was so sudden and so quick that people didn’t get a chance to adjust. So now I think changing again, not back to what it was but something different and something that I feel like will be better, because now I think they have the grasp on maybe bringing some Raw and SmackDown people in or some NXT people to Raw and SmackDown. It really might start being something bigger, who knows? I think it’s so cool to be thinking about the future and being excited to see what will come from it.”

At the NXT Worlds Collide event on September 4th, Ricochet lost his attempt to win the NXT North American Title from Carmelo Hayes. It was a great match that thrilled the crowd. Ricochet remains a Smackdown superstar moving forward as he picked up a win over Sami Zayn on the September 16th episode of the show.

H/t – Fightful