Prince Puma, aka Ricochet, has been embedded in the consciousness of the wrestling community recently. Between having one of the most praised (or ridiculed) matches in ages, against Will Ospreay, at the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling and finishing up the television tapings of season three of Lucha Underground, he has been a busy man. With Puma’s (born Trevor Mann) contract coming to an end soon, many have speculated that the next stop for the talented athlete would be World Wrestling Entertainment. However, as Dave Meltzer stated via Wrestling Observer Radio, things aren’t that cut and dry.
According to Meltzer, Puma’s contract will allow him to make appearances for several indie promotions, followed up by another stint in NJPW. Contractually, it will be a while before he’ll be able to do business with the WWE.
While it would be great for Puma to show up in NXT, or the main Raw/SmackDown roster next week or next month, this delay is probably a really good thing. Puma has developed a cult-like following. Going to bide his time in New Japan, gaining international notoriety, will be quite beneficial. Just ask AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Shinsuke Nakamura and several others who are already making a huge impact, only having been on WWE television for a relatively short time.
I say this is the right move for Puma. What say you, wrestling fans?
