AEW Star Reveals Original Plans For Ricochet's Faction Were Changed

Bishop Kaun Reveals How He and Toa Liona Forced Their Way Into The Demand

The formation of AEW faction, The Demand, nearly took a completely different path. According to Bishop Kaun, he and his Gates of Agony tag team partner, Toa Liona, were not the original choices to align with Ricochet—they simply refused to be left out.

Appearing on the Certified Mark Show, Kaun opened up about how he and Toa monitored the situation when Ricochet began teasing an alliance on television, signaling that he wanted backup. Instead of waiting for creative plans to finalize behind the scenes, the duo decided to seize the moment themselves.

“Uh, honestly, we forced his hand. We saw it was truly like—we saw him cutting these promos like, ‘Hey, he’s looking for people. He wants to start this group. He needs a faction.’ And Toa and I were just looking at the landscape. We’re like, ‘Okay, here’s possible people that could be in this group with him.’ No, that’s ours for the taking,” Kaun explained.

Recognizing that they needed to stand out on a crowded roster, Kaun emphasized that every opportunity they received carried high stakes. With Ricochet watching closely from the commentary desk during one of their matches, Kaun and Liona delivered a statement performance.

“Fortunately, we were having tag matches at that time, and we just go, every time to wrestle, our backs are against the wall. We can’t mess up. We have to show it every single time. We feel like we have—still are not respected after being here for how many years. Like, so we had a match. Ricochet was on commentary like, ‘Hey, we got to show up for this guy. We need to show him, and we’re going to take this opportunity, and no, we’re in this group with him.’

So, literally, we had our match. We get to the back. Producer posts the sign like, ‘Yeah, it’s y’all three. Like, you guys killed it. He wants you. You impressed him.’ So, yeah, I know we impressed him. We’re beating their ass out here. So, we truly forced his hand. I think it was supposed to be two other guys. No, we stepped over them, got our spot.”

When pressed by the host on the identity of the two original choices for the group, Kaun kept specifics close to the chest. However, he offered a lighthearted hint suggesting that the initial plans ultimately merged together in the end.

“I mean, I think they’re in our group right now, actually, too. So, I mean, it doesn’t matter. Everyone ended up in the same place.”

Through persistence and undeniable in-ring intensity, Kaun and Liona carved out their spots, cementing The Demand as a dominant force in AEW alongside Ricochet.