Monday Night Raw’s Ricochet will go down in the WWE history books as the first-ever WWE Speed Champion following his win in the tournament finals.
The One & Only defeated Johnny Gargano in the tournament finals in a match that was given a five-minute time limit, far longer than the standard three-minute limit for WWE Speed matches. Ricochet defeated Dragon Lee in the first round of the eight-man tournament and JD McDonagh in the semi-finals to make it to his showdown with Gargano.
IT'S TIME! ?
The #WWESpeed Championship Match is finally here! It's @KingRicochet vs. @JohnnyGargano to crown the first-ever WWE Speed Champion! ? pic.twitter.com/n9maWBDsru
— WWE (@WWE) May 3, 2024
On Twitter, WWE CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque congratulated Ricochet and praised the new champion as somebody who defines the term ‘Speed.’
You always remember the first to ever do it.
Nobody defines “speed” like Ricochet. Congratulations to @KingRicochet on adding another title reign to his legacy and becoming the first-ever #WWESpeed Champion. pic.twitter.com/w5mjSM8n0U
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 3, 2024
Backstage, Ricochet spoke about how it’s been some time since he’s held a championship. The One & Only added that he is set to be the front-runner of WWE Speed and is ready to take on all challengers in matches of any length.
Congrats, @KingRicochet!!! @KingRicochet has made history as the first-ever #WWESpeed Champion! ? pic.twitter.com/vfRPz9R35G
— WWE (@WWE) May 3, 2024
This is the latest accolade for Ricochet who is no stranger to holding championship gold. The 35-year-old Superstar is a former United States, Intercontinental, and North American Champion, the only Superstar in history to hold all three mid-card titles.
More on WWE Speed
WWE Speed is the promotion’s new social media project and will be broadcast exclusively on Twitter/X. The show features Corey Graves as the sole commentator, another first in the promotion’s history as WWE has always favored two or three-man teams. Early tapings included Kevin Patrick before his release in January 2024.
So far, the only matches aired have been tournament matches and all have featured male Superstars. That’ll change soon enough though as Triple H recently confirmed that WWE Speed will also include women’s division matches. At this time, it’s not been confirmed when the next tapings of WWE Speed matches will take place.
