Former ROH Heavyweight Teases Joining WWE

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a report on wrestlinginc.com, former ROH World Champion Davey Richards is teasing that he's headed to WWE.

Friday night at a show in St. Louis, Richards got on the mic and told the crowd that he was "heading to Connecticut" to prove he's the "real best in the world". He did this after his match against his opponent and stated that he'd done all there was to do in the indies.

Richards has been one of the top stars on the indy scene for the past several years. In ROH, he really rose to prominence as one half of the American Wolves with Eddie Edwards, capturing the ROH tag titles just slightly more than 3 years ago. Richard & Edwards would embark on singles careers in the company eventually and ultimately ended up feuding over the ROH World Championship. The feud culminated with Richards winning the strap from Edwards in late June 2011, which he would drop to Kevin Steen in around the middle of May 2012.

I've seen various footage of Richards and the guy certainly has it in the ring. Personally, he reminds me of something of a cross between CM Punk and Chris Benoit in the ring. He's short & stocky like Benoit. Like Benoit & Punk, he can both mat wrestle & brawl quite well. His one big drawback that I've seen is his mic work. He doesn't exactly blow me away on promo work.

With the WWE Performance Center announcement, it's been reported that WWE would be making offers to elite wrestlers out on the indy scene. Based simply on what Richards said, it's an obvious indicator that he's either been talking with WWE, is in the process of signing with WWE, has a tryout scheduled, may have already been signed to the company that it's been kept very hush hush or is just blowing smoke out his ass.

 

[#heel420]

He's awesome in the ring. His Strikes, his suplexs, his submissions are all so crisp and on point. He's the 2nd coming of Benoit and the 3rd coming of Dynamite Kid. He's pretty one dimensional on the mic, but he has his moments. I'm a fan of his and I would personally love to see him on the biggest stage possible.

I'm only against this for the fact that they would really tone down his moveset.

 

[HBsam31]

I agree with heel420 that they would probably tone down his move set, but Punk and Daniel Bryan were able to overcome that. I would like to see Richards in a WWE ring, but his mic skills concern me. Is he going to be good enough to get far in the WWE? There are ways around that, but I think that is going to be his biggest problem. The matches he could put on with some of WWE's current stars intrigues me a great deal. This could be a good thing for both parties if it is true, and they let him do what he can do in the ring.

 

[zephyrs]

I have to say that I won't believe it until I see him in an NXT ring. Davey's said numerous times that he has no interest in WWE, mostly because of their hectic travel schedule, of all things.

Davey's a good wrestler, but his matches are too much sometimes. There's too much no-selling after big moves, and maybe too many big moves in general; trying to fit too much into one match and turning it into an exhibition of "look what I can do." The part that kills me though, is that after all of these high impact moves, the finish is just some sort of stiff strike.

I do hope that he decides to give WWE a shot, and that they decide sign him. He's a talented guy, even if he does try to do too much sometimes.

 

[CraigThe13th]

I have to say that I won't believe it until I see him in an NXT ring. Davey's said numerous times that he has no interest in WWE, mostly because of their hectic travel schedule, of all things.

Davey's a good wrestler, but his matches are too much sometimes. There's too much no-selling after big moves, and maybe too many big moves in general; trying to fit too much into one match and turning it into an exhibition of "look what I can do." The part that kills me though, is that after all of these high impact moves, the finish is just some sort of stiff strike.

I do hope that he decides to give WWE a shot, and that they decide sign him. He's a talented guy, even if he does try to do too much sometimes.

That's effin spot on about Davey, like I feel all the posts have been. I think the reason WWE haven't signed him is maybe he is a little too reminiscent of Benoit in look, demeanor and wrestling style.

If he signs I wouldn't worry about his mic work not being up to scratch. Look at Seth Rollins! He was painful to listen to as Tyler Black he just sounded like a whiny kid. Now thanks to a big stint in FCW/NXT he can cut a half decent promo. Even if he doesn't improve it never stopped Benoit, or Jeff Hardy from reaching the top.

The switch in style should come with time in NXT too, in fact I would look forward to seeing him in a WWE style match with more ring psychology and less high spots. I would book him similar to how Ken Shamrock was initially booked, tapping guys out quickly and snapping and wasting referees. Really get his intensity which is where his x factor lies over.

I do worry they may give him the Kaval/Goldman treatment that will be no fault of his if that happens though.

WWE must be after signing him thinking about it, there isn't many big stars are left for WWE to pluck from RoH nowadays. They already have Dragon,Punk,Hero,Claudio,Black and El Generico. TNA have Joe,Daniels and AJ Styles.

That leaves The Wolves,Delirious,Steen,Elgin and Adam Cole out of guys I feel WWE would want to sign left. Not much choice considering how many guys RoH have fed the big two in the past.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to say that I won't believe it until I see him in an NXT ring. Davey's said numerous times that he has no interest in WWE, mostly because of their hectic travel schedule, of all things.

Davey's a good wrestler, but his matches are too much sometimes. There's too much no-selling after big moves, and maybe too many big moves in general; trying to fit too much into one match and turning it into an exhibition of "look what I can do." The part that kills me though, is that after all of these high impact moves, the finish is just some sort of stiff strike.

I do hope that he decides to give WWE a shot, and that they decide sign him. He's a talented guy, even if he does try to do too much sometimes.

True. There are some big downsides to that style He does a lot of big moves but there's sometimes so little story that's told and he often doesn't sell that much. There's a match between him & Pac featured at wrestlinginc.com in the article I got the info from. It was enjoyable to watch overall, but there were just so many big spots and so many big moves here & there that it got to be too much. A huge downside to that style is that they do so many big moves that they kick out of that they have to keep upping the stakes and pull out even more dangerous spots in order to keep the crowd oohing & aahing.

WWE's schedule is intense. However, if you're someone who hopes to be a big star making big money, that's the trade off. Such a style would lead to injury before too long in a WWE schedule and the wrestler would burn out his body before too long. Some want to call it watered down, yet they forget or simply don't care that wrestlers are people too. If WWE didn't cut down on the high spots, let the guys go all out and eventually have to let them go for simply not being able to keep up due to injury; they'd be bitch at over that.

 

[klunderbunker]

Thank goodness. Maybe now someone can teach him how to work an actually good wrestling match and not have his brains scrambled by getting kicked in the head all the time.

I'm no fan of Davey Richards whatsoever. His MMA/kickboxing/I CAN THROW THIRTY KICKS IN FIVE MINUTES AND NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE style drove me away from ROH as it's ridiculously stupid to watch. The man was the World Heavyweight Champion and I don't ever remember him doing anything other than kicks to the head and an ankle lock. Maybe down in Florida he can learn how to work an actual wrestling match, which if nothing else will save his brain from being destroyed by those unnecessarily stiff kicks to the head. Also I'd pay big money to see Ricky Steamboat react to Richards' "selling".

The guy is a big name, but he's got a long way to go before he learns how to wrestle a competent match.

 

[CraigThe13th]

Thank goodness. Maybe now someone can teach him how to work an actually good wrestling match and not have his brains scrambled by getting kicked in the head all the time.

Maybe down in Florida he can learn how to work an actual wrestling match, which if nothing else will save his brain from being destroyed by those unnecessarily stiff kicks to the head.

This is why I think one of the biggest possible deterrents to him being signed, well actually it's a few rolled in one.

1. Short, jacked up intense looking guy.
2. Gets leathered about the head a lot!
3. The hectic toil of life on the road and all it's possible trappings and physical hardship it presents daily.

Just my opinion like that's all it is, but given the shit storm that happened in 2007 if I were in power in WWE I'd be more than a bit overly-cautious.

 

[Papa Pillman]

In recent shoots Richards has claimed that he feels there is nothing left for him in ROH, and that he is simply riding out his current contract, that combined with the recent reports that WWE is on the verge of adding an influx of top level indy talent lends credence to this situation; however, as was stated earlier, Richards has also denied interest in the WWE due to the travel schedule, as well as the loss of his freedom to work in Japan.

My gut tells me that this is all just Davey using the recent reports surrounding the new WWE training facility to his advantage as a way to work the smarks.

If it is true, it would be very interesting to see. I get people claiming that Davey's style and size don't translate to the big stage directly, but neither do Generico's or Pac's and they got a shot. And anybody who is afraid of Davey's way of working needs to realize that he, like Bryan before him, is adept at playing to his specific audience, with different limitations and expectations he would surely work and sell in a more tamed manner. He is one of the most talented workers on the scene and has had a multitude of incredible matches with lots of different types of workers, surely some time in developmental would allow him to adapt his approach similarly to the way that Bryan was able to.

The Benoit comparison is a valid one, but the Dynamite Kid comparison is probably more accurate. In fact The American Wolves have often been likened to a modern version of the British Bulldogs. From that standpoint I'd love to see the WWE bring in Davey and Eddie Edwards as a pair. I think Eddie could also make the appropriate compromises to his workrate, and the two could end up as valuable commodity to the future of the tag division when taking into account that despite their relative experience levels they are each still in their twenties.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Being a massive fan of Davey Richards and having had the honor to interview the guy he is an absolute beast. No other words for him. Guy is a machine inside a squared circle and prides himself not on what he sells or doesn't sell off the merchandise stand but what he does in the ring, what some people don't get and he explained this in his shoot with Steen a couple months ago Davey does legit remind himself from time-to-time that this isn't a real sport, he gets carried away and that is where his passion to be the best comes from.

Davey was offered a WWE development deal a couple years ago and he rejected because in his own words he didn't want to stay in Florida learning to wrestle when he already knows how too. He said there would be a day when he reassess the situation so if that is what hes done here and has now decided the WWE is the way forward well then good for him, but he'll be waiting awhile anyway.

Richards is under contract until August, he said this in his interview with me and several other sites. So he has a few months left. In that time if he does leave and join WWE It'll be big for a ton of Davey fans because what he brings to wrestling is pure intensity. You can criticize his style during the Cornette era all you want, that is what Cornette asked him to do because Jim pushed the MMA inspired feel to ROH, but since reforming The Wolves DR's been on proverbial fire.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

Davey is by far one of the best tallents on the indy scene and has been for some time now. If WWE were to sign him then he would instantly be one of the better wrestlers in the roster and would have some great matches with the like's of Punk and Bryan. The only problem with Davey like a lot of you have said, is his Mic Skills, The Guy is not the best Talker in the world but if WWE were to pair him with somebody like Hayman then I imagine the sky would be the limit for Richards in WWE.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Thank goodness. Maybe now someone can teach him how to work an actually good wrestling match and not have his brains scrambled by getting kicked in the head all the time.

I'm no fan of Davey Richards whatsoever. His MMA/kickboxing/I CAN THROW THIRTY KICKS IN FIVE MINUTES AND NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE style drove me away from ROH as it's ridiculously stupid to watch. The man was the World Heavyweight Champion and I don't ever remember him doing anything other than kicks to the head and an ankle lock. Maybe down in Florida he can learn how to work an actual wrestling match, which if nothing else will save his brain from being destroyed by those unnecessarily stiff kicks to the head. Also I'd pay big money to see Ricky Steamboat react to Richards' "selling".

The guy is a big name, but he's got a long way to go before he learns how to wrestle a competent match.

You said pretty much everything I've ever thought about the guy as far as his work goes. His psychology is horrible and don't even get me started on his "American Strong Style" crap.

There's no question he has talent, but he's a headcase.

And the guys attitude and some of the crap he's pulled on the indy scene? Unless he smartens up, I really don't see him doing well in a company like the WWE. If there's still a locker room leader that does this, I do see him getting a Bradshaw type hazing though.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

And the guys attitude and some of the crap he's pulled on the indy scene? Unless he smartens up, I really don't see him doing well in a company like the WWE. If there's still a locker room leader that does this, I do see him getting a Bradshaw type hazing though.

He did one thing which was take money due to a promoter withholding money they had already worked for, an owner that then tried to use the situation to run an angle in Ring of Honor and an owner who has since been called out for being hard to work with. After that he has done nothing else, they've ran two angles - Team Bandit and in England an angle where Davey refuses to defend the title - and that's it, so you may want to use some better reasoning.