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Ricochet has announced that he won't be appearing on tonight's episode of SmackDown because WWE has given him personal leave.
The 33-year-old was last seen at WrestleMania SmackDown last week where he defended his Intercontinental Championship in a triple threat match against Humberto Carrilo and Angel Garza. He successfully defeated both stars to retain the title.
Ricochet recently took to Twitter to share that WWE has given him some time off to be with his family, meaning that he'll be missing SmackDown. He added that he'll return to the blue brand next week:
"A champion not only defends his title in the ring, he defends & protects his family. Thank you WWE for giving this champion some time to spend with my son this weekend. After whooping Los Lotharios on Wrestlemania Smackdown, some R&R with MY champ is exactly what I need," he wrote.
Ricochet and current United States Champion Finn Balor were left off the WrestleMania card
Ricochet captured the IC Title for the first time in his career several weeks ago by dethroning Sami Zayn. However, despite being champions, he and Finn Balor did not compete at WWE WrestleMania 38.
The last time the Intercontinental Championship was defended on a premium live event was at the Showcase of the Immortals last year. During the event, Apollo Crews defeated Big E to capture the title.
Crews went on to lose it to Shinsuke Nakamura on the August 13th episode of SmackDown. Meanwhile, RAW Superstar Finna Balor captured the US Championship following his return to WWE by defeating Damien Priest. He suffered several non-title defeats during his run.
Balor competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the blue brand last week, which was won by Mapcap Moss. On the RAW after 'Mania, Balor teamed up with RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro to take on Austin Theory and The Usos in a losing effort.
It remains to be seen what the company has planned for Ricochet and Balor in the near future.
