Spoiler: Title Changes Hands Prior To Last Night’s WWE SmackDown Taping – Wrestling Inc.

The WWE Speed Championship changed hands during Friday’s “WWE SmackDown” taping, which will air fully on the X platform on June 14. Ricochet was the inaugural champion crowned in April after defeating Johnny Gargano, and had since defended the title against Tyler Bate, but it was during his second title defense that Andrade managed to unseat him, per PWInsider. It will be the first WWE title Andrade has held since dropping the United States Championship in June 2020, having returned to WWE in January after initially leaving in 2021. 

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Ricochet’s title loss comes at an interesting time, considering it was only reported on May 31 that his current contract is due to expire over the summer. Former indie rival and current AEW International Champion Will Ospreay has called for Ricochet to up sticks to the competition as his free agency looms, however WWE is reportedly planning on opening up talks regarding a new deal.

Ricochet had previously made a name for himself on the indies with his signature rapid offense bringing him success in NJPW, Dragon Gate, PWG, and Lucha Underground — the latter of which saw him portray the iconic Prince Puma. He signed with WWE in January 2016, joining the “WWE NXT” roster working under current CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque and capturing the North American Championship. Since his main roster call-up in 2019, Ricochet has held both the United States and Intercontinental titles. But his one and only opportunity at the WWE Championship ended in decimation at the hands of Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown 2020, losing his title challenge after just a minute and a half. 

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