The Rise And Downfall of Matt Riddle's WWE Career

Sportskeeda Wrestling

Embark on a rollercoaster ride through the captivating journey of Matt Riddle a fighter whose path from UFC firing led to a promising wrestling career, only to face unexpected twists and turns resulting in his departure from WWE. Join us in this riveting video as we dissect the highs, lows, and unexpected detours that define the complex saga of Matt Riddle's time in professional wrestling.   Discover how the MMA standout, originally cut from the UFC, found new life and purpose in the wrestling world. From his debut in the vibrant landscape of independent promotions to his explosive impact in NXT, we celebrate the rise of the "Original Bro" and the unique charisma that endeared him to fans worldwide. His talked-about tag team run with Randy Orton is something that fans will never forget.   Share your thoughts, opinions, and predictions in the comments section below. Do you believe Matt Riddle can bounce back from this setback, or has the turbulent nature of his career become insurmountable? Engage in a thoughtful conversation with the community as we unravel the fascinating narrative of Matt Riddle's wrestling odyssey. Don't forget to subscribe, hit the notification bell, and join us in this deep dive into the rise, fall, and resilience of a fighter who defied the odds in pursuit of his wrestling   You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe  #MattRiddle #Riddle #WWE #Wrestling #Sportskeeda

Transcript

00:00 (dramatic music)

00:02 - Former UFC fighter turned WWE superstar, Matt Riddle.

00:11 His career directory was better than 99% of the superstars

00:15 who signed with the company.

00:16 He was a true independent wrestling breakout

00:20 after his time in MMA.

00:21 An NXT Tag Team Champion, regularly featured as a star

00:25 on Monday Night Raw, won multiple championships

00:27 and was a hit partnership with Hall of Famer,

00:30 soon to be all time great, Randy Orton.

00:34 Despite all of that, it suddenly turned

00:36 into a downfall spiral and an inevitable release

00:40 from the company.

00:41 What went so wrong for Matt Riddle

00:43 while so many things went right?

00:45 Why did his WWE career end in such an abrupt way?

00:49 To answer that, we need to go back a little bit.

00:51 It's Sportskeeda Wrestling, I'm Kevin.

00:53 Get into the comments below and let us know what you think.

00:55 Bro.

00:57 You may not know this, Matt Riddle though,

00:58 was a UFC fighter and did what no UFC fighter wants to do.

01:03 Make UFC President, Dana White, angry.

01:06 Remember this because it's gonna be really important later.

01:08 Dana White wasn't happy with Matt Riddle at all.

01:11 Dana White's opinion of Matt Riddle has never cooled down

01:14 a bit over the years and he's made it clear

01:15 that he has no regrets about firing him from the UFC

01:20 over his numerous failed marijuana tests.

01:23 UFC fighters under different regulations

01:25 are consistently drug tested and before 2021,

01:29 there was not a relaxed approach to marijuana use.

01:32 As a result, two of his UFC wins were overturned

01:36 because of post-fight positive tests.

01:38 Dana White had enough of him and made the cut.

01:41 Riddle, with his over-the-top personality

01:43 that was projectible through his fighting career,

01:45 jumped into the world of professional wrestling

01:47 and was an instant success

01:49 on the independent wrestling scene.

01:51 The indies were experiencing a big boom at that time

01:54 and he got into it at the right time and the right place,

01:57 competing in some of the biggest promotions in the country,

02:00 including PWG, AAW, CZW, Evolve, Progress, and more.

02:05 There was reportedly interest from New Japan Pro Wrestling

02:09 in signing him to team up with Jeff Cobb,

02:11 but because of the Japanese taboo

02:13 around marijuana consumption,

02:15 they opted not to bring him in.

02:17 Come on, Matt Riddle with his MMA background,

02:19 the strong style, it would have been something else.

02:21 There was much speculation

02:22 in the internet wrestling community

02:24 about whether or not Riddle would join the class

02:27 of big names being scooped up from the independent circuit

02:30 by WWE NXT at the time.

02:33 And was Riddle's questionable situations

02:35 with the UFC, Dana White, and all that,

02:37 was it gonna be something that kept him from the WWE?

02:40 No, yeah, he was a real hit

02:42 when he joined the black and gold NXT brand

02:45 and had a very strong two-year run there.

02:48 He got one of the quickest wins in NXT history

02:50 with his debut, taking out Cassius Ohno,

02:52 now known as Chris Hero, once again, in six seconds.

02:55 He was a part of the Team NXT one-off

02:58 triple brand Survivor Series at 2019.

03:01 And guess who he eliminated?

03:02 His future tag team partner, Randy Orton.

03:05 He began to dabble in and out of the main roster

03:07 in one-off appearances like the Royal Rumble,

03:09 but his NXT run came to a close with a tag team title run

03:13 before he transitioned to the main roster.

03:15 And it wasn't too long before things took off

03:17 for Riddle on the main roster.

03:19 After a quick stint on SmackDown, he was drafted to Raw,

03:22 and by the turn of 2021, he found himself

03:25 in the United States Championship title picture.

03:27 Although it seemed like Keith Lee was the one positioned

03:30 to defeat Bobby Lashley for the title elimination chamber,

03:33 an injury took him out, and it was Riddle

03:35 who ultimately benefited by becoming the new US champion.

03:39 It was a pretty cool spot to see him in.

03:41 In his first WrestleMania, 11 months

03:43 after his main roster debut,

03:45 he faced the living legend Sheamus.

03:47 It really didn't matter because that loss,

03:50 because he was still at his first WrestleMania,

03:52 showed that bigger things were expected

03:54 for him in the future.

03:55 And when we say bigger things,

03:56 we're referring to Randy Orton,

03:58 because that's the direction it was going

04:00 post-WrestleMania 37 with the RK-Bro storyline.

04:05 It turned out to be one of the best things

04:06 that happened to his career,

04:07 and it directly benefited Randy Orton too.

04:10 They were far from the first oddball partnership

04:13 we have seen in WWE, but they may be one of the best, yes.

04:17 Riddle being all like, "Bro,"

04:19 and Randy Orton being all serious and sinister.

04:21 It was a really good combination of personalities

04:25 and made for some really great tag team matches as well.

04:28 It instantly became the most popular tag team act

04:31 in the company next to the Usos.

04:33 Despite an injury that kept Randy Orton out for seven weeks,

04:36 he returned on time so they could both win

04:39 the Raw tag team titles at SummerSlam,

04:41 which was not too long after the crowds

04:43 began to return as well.

04:45 And you can see a pattern of perfect timing

04:47 once again for Riddle here.

04:48 On screen, Riddle's career was probably going

04:50 to get better than he expected it would

04:52 just seven years after he began in wrestling.

04:55 But behind the scenes, a lot of turmoil was happening

04:57 with Riddle's personal life

04:59 not really matching his professional life.

05:02 His marriage at the time was not too strong,

05:04 and this was becoming public knowledge on social media.

05:08 He would retain the Raw tag team titles

05:09 with Orton at WrestleMania 38 in a career-defining moment,

05:13 but at the same time, he was going through a divorce.

05:15 Riddle was getting the perception and tag

05:18 of someone living that rockstar life on the road,

05:21 and it certainly affected his personal life.

05:23 And a lot of it was played out on social media,

05:26 which made it even more amplified.

05:28 There was also a very public accusation against Riddle

05:31 from a woman he dated briefly

05:33 that goes into a very messy legal situation.

05:36 It's not that PG, so we're not gonna get into it too much.

05:39 Randy Orton's injury put an unfortunate end

05:42 to the RK-Bro story.

05:44 Yeah, we never got that big singles match

05:46 between the two of them that everyone thought

05:48 was simmering under the surface.

05:50 His next major program was him against Seth Rollins.

05:53 Saw the visionary taking a direct shot

05:55 at Riddle's personal issues,

05:57 and to quote him from an episode of Raw,

06:00 "Let's talk about your wife and family.

06:02 "Oh, wait, you ain't got one because your wife divorced you,

06:05 "took your kids because they don't wanna see

06:08 "your bitch ass anymore."

06:10 That wasn't very PG either.

06:12 - I'm gonna (beep) you up, bro.

06:13 Where the (beep) are you?

06:15 - It was also around this time when Riddle couldn't help

06:17 but admit that his personal life was affecting him,

06:21 and it was a highly publicized divorce.

06:23 He told Corey Graves on the After the Belt podcast

06:25 that it had been a rough couple of years,

06:27 but it was only going to go downhill from there too.

06:31 After getting written off TV,

06:33 courtesy of a Samoan-style assault from Solo Sokoa,

06:36 it was revealed that Riddle had failed a drug test

06:40 and was being sent to rehab to deal with those issues.

06:42 It seemed like a good time for him to get back

06:45 and for him to be away from WWE spotlight

06:48 while he got his life in order and got healthier.

06:51 What was weird was the situation was the fact

06:53 that his 60-day suspension meant that he was gonna be

06:57 dealing with his second suspension,

06:59 and the first was never really announced.

07:01 It took a few months off,

07:02 and before returning after WrestleMania,

07:04 he was instantly slotted back against the bloodline

07:07 before failing to topple Gunther

07:09 on his Intercontinental Championship throne.

07:12 His last story in WWE saw him team up with Drew McIntyre

07:16 in what many thought would be the transitional program

07:18 for Drew to become a bad guy at Riddle's expense.

07:22 Right around this time in 2023,

07:24 he had an unfortunate publicized incident

07:27 at an airport in New York City

07:28 with a law enforcement official accusing him

07:31 of sexually assaulting him.

07:33 Not too long after that, a TMZ video emerged

07:36 showing Riddle at the same airport in a questionable state,

07:40 causing a scene that brought into conflict

07:42 things he was posting about it on social media,

07:45 and it just wasn't good.

07:48 - Wrong friendship!

07:50 You know how to fly!

07:52 Fucking fly!

07:53 - After this, it simply became a matter of

07:56 when he was going to get let go, not if.

08:00 That day came when he was released from the company

08:02 on September 22nd, 2023,

08:05 marking an unfortunate end to a run

08:08 that had so much potential.

08:10 Remember we mentioned Dana White earlier?

08:12 A day after the airport incident,

08:14 the WWE/UFC merger under the TKO Holdings Group

08:18 became official.

08:20 Dana White and Vince McMahon instantly went

08:22 from previously being adversaries

08:24 to now becoming business partners.

08:27 Some people, including legendary wrestling journalist

08:29 Bill Apter, speculated that the merger

08:32 and Dana White's position may have been one of the reasons

08:35 why Matt Riddle was fired,

08:37 considering all of those things going on

08:39 negatively with him outside of the ring

08:41 and the bad blood between Riddle and Dana White in the past.

08:45 But that's just speculation.

08:47 But the key word here is had.

08:49 As we said before, Dana White cooled down a lot

08:53 and simply seemed not to care about Riddle

08:55 as much anymore, openly expressing that he was happy

08:58 for his success, all while maintaining his stance

09:01 that he didn't regret the decision

09:02 in letting him go from the UFC in the first place.

09:05 Although Dana White isn't exactly the most popular

09:07 figurehead among UFC fans, the decision to axe Riddle

09:11 made a lot more sense in hindsight.

09:13 Riddle's exit from WWE is different from others

09:16 that fans would say are unfair or just hit emotionally.

09:20 This was one that people saw coming,

09:22 and we all understand is just kind of sad and disappointing.

09:26 WWE gave Matt Riddle chance after chance,

09:29 and pushing him with all of that personal turmoil

09:32 going on in his life, it simply became too much

09:35 and affected his professional life.

09:37 Let's be real, he wasn't the first person

09:39 who has had these type of public issues in WWE,

09:42 and he can't be the last.

09:43 This is a part of living that life at that level

09:47 with that much pressure.

09:48 If social media existed during the 1990s,

09:51 Shawn Michaels' dark days back then may have been projected

09:55 amongst fans in the same way that this has happened.

09:58 But when WWE has to see a video on TMZ in this day and age

10:02 where everyone is so interconnected with a top name

10:05 in their company having this type of scene at an airport,

10:08 it's not hard to see why they feel different about it now.

10:12 That's just the way the world is now.

10:14 Ultimately, the airport incident was the straw

10:17 that broke the camel's back, and his personal issues

10:19 are something that hopefully can get resolved,

10:21 and we can see the Matt Riddle we saw before

10:25 become what he could become in WWE in the future.

10:28 After all, there's always the mentality

10:30 of never say never in WWE,

10:33 and other names have been able to bounce back

10:35 from similar circumstances

10:37 to become some of the all-time greats.

10:40 What's your favorite Matt Riddle match or moment, bro?

10:44 Let us know in the comments below.

10:46 (dramatic music)

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