Matt Riddle talks about why he thinks Brock Lesnar cost him a Royal Rumble win and the circumstances around his own release. Riddle was an up-and-coming star in WWE, but his own actions may have cost him his WWE career.
Matt Riddle was released from WWE in late September. Prior to that he had been in-and-out of trouble in WWE. The year prior he took some time off to enter rehab after a failed drug test. Seemingly the final straw for WWE was an altercation with police at the JFK airport.
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However, Matt Riddle believes there was another factor which contributed to his release. In early September the WWE and UFC parent company, TKO, merged. While a guest on The Kurt Angle Show, Riddle revealed that President and CEO of UFC Dana White may have been the reason he was released.
“I think that [the UFC-WWE merger] didn’t really help things. Me and Dana White don’t have the greatest relationship and I know he’s a big part of that. It definitely played a part. I also know they were making budget cuts regardless and I was getting paid quite a pretty penny.”
Matt Riddle’s Promising UFC Career
Prior to Matt Riddle’s wrestling career he had a promising MMA career. He was a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter show and signed a UFC contract. While in the UFC he had a record of 7-3 with two additional wins overturned because he tested positive for cannabis. The positive cannabis tests caused him to be released from the UFC.
Gaining Popularity In WWE
Riddle started a career in pro wrestling and made it to the WWE. He continued to climb up the WWE ranks and became a former NXT Tag Team champion, Raw Tag Team champion and United States champion.
Eventually Riddle had gained enough popularity to where according to Riddle he was in consideration to win the 2022 Royal Rumble. He had previously said that Brock Lesnar just decided he was going to win the Royal Rumble and no one said no to him. However, Riddle has now clarified what happened that night.
“I’m not going to say I was guaranteed to win, because anybody that’s wrestled in WWE knows nothing is guaranteed … But I was told there was a possibility I might win the Rumble, and that I was going to do a triangle to Brock …”
“He just did the job to Bobby, and he goes, ‘Hey, you guys gotta do business for me, I did good business for Bobby and you do good business for me. We’re like, ‘Alright,’ what are you going to do? Everybody was like, ‘Okay,’ and that’s what we did, we fed in, and we did our jobs.”
Riddle Post WWE
Since Riddle’s release he has remained in wrestling. He has wrestled in MLW and NJPW. He will challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi for the NJPW World Television Championship at Night 1 of The New Beginning in Sapporo on Feb. 23.
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Riddle has stayed out of the headlines since his release from WWE. The last year or so of his time in WWE was full of rumors and personal challenges including a divorce. He credits Randy Orton for helping him get through a very tough time in his life.
“He really helped me out through a lot of tough times because I was going through a divorce at the time and everything else and he’s been through a similar situation and he was just a real brother and especially, you know, when you’re on the road, it’s not like I can call anybody. To have him there and be that supportive, because you know how Randy can be, and for him to be as supportive to me it was nice. Randy has a spot in my heart forever.”
The Viper Returns
Orton was injured in 2022 and was out for 18 months. During that time RK-Bro was forced to end. The RK-Bro storyline was by far the peak of Riddle’s WWE career. However, he did have high profile matches and feuds with some big names like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, GUNTHER and The Bloodline in general.
Since Orton returned in November he has placed himself at the top of the card. He will have a Fatal 4-Way match with AJ Styles, LA Knight and Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble on Jan. 27.
Do you think the bad blood between Matt Riddle and Dana White led to his release? If Lesnar had not decided to win the Royal Rumble do you think Riddle would have? Would that have been a good choice? If Orton didn’t get injured do you think Riddle would still be with WWE? Let us know on social media if you think Riddle will or should return to the WWE in the future.
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Sources: The Kurt Angle Show, Wrestling Inc., Wrestling Inc., Wrestling Inc.
