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Although Matt Riddle only joined WWE’s main roster in June 2020, it is fair to say that he is one of the most polarizing Superstars in WWE right now.
Prior to his WWE SmackDown debut, Matt Riddle caused plenty of controversy online following his outspoken remarks about several WWE veterans, especially Goldberg.
He also repeatedly mentioned in media interviews that he wanted to be the person to retire Brock Lesnar one day.
Away from WWE, Matt Riddle has made the headlines this year due to issues in his personal life. He was named in the Speaking Out movement in June and he is currently being sued by independent wrestler Samatha Tavel (aka Candy Cartwright).
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Whether people like or loathe Matt Riddle, it seems that everybody has an opinion on the former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion.
In this article, let’s take a look at two WWE Superstars who want to work with Matt Riddle, as well as three who have no plans to ever do business with him.
#5 Seth Rollins never wants to face Matt Riddle
Seth Rollins made his feelings about Matt Riddle perfectly clear when he appeared on an episode of WWE Watch Along during the first night of the 2020 WWE Draft.
When discussing Matt Riddle’s potential status as a member of the WWE RAW roster, Rollins said he does not intend on ever facing the former WWE NXT Superstar.
“I've got no interest in facing Matt Riddle at any point in my career, so he can go to RAW as far as I'm concerned.”
Rollins’ comment came as a surprise because the two men were on opposing brands and not involved in a storyline together before the 2020 WWE Draft.
As it turned out, they also ended up on different brands after the roster changes took place, which meant Rollins’ remark about Matt Riddle was not made to kick-start a possible feud between the Superstars.
It has been speculated that Rollins and Matt Riddle might have real-life heat with each other, dating back to the time that Matt Riddle’s wife made derogatory comments about Becky Lynch.
As you can see above, Lisa Riddle body-shamed Lynch – Rollins’ fiancée – on Instagram in November 2019. She took down the post after receiving a lot of backlash online.
#4 Daniel Bryan wants to work with Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle and Daniel Bryan worked with the same opponent, AJ Styles, in June 2020 but their paths did not cross in an official WWE match.
Speaking on WWE Backstage, Bryan said he wants to work with the up-and-coming Superstars on the WWE roster right now, including Matt Riddle.
“I think that in this, you [CM Punk] and I are the same. We have always looked at the next generation of talents to be able to work with them. I have always wanted to see how the talents of the development territory and those who are developing progress. They don’t work on TV. Matt Riddle is one of these guys. He has everything to succeed.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
While Bryan has spent the last couple of months on paternity leave, Matt Riddle has been involved in a three-month rivalry with King Corbin on SmackDown.
The 2020 WWE Draft saw Bryan drafted to SmackDown (#7 pick) and Matt Riddle move to RAW (#8 pick), which means the two men might have to wait a long time before they go one-on-one.
#3 Brock Lesnar never wants to face Matt Riddle
It emerged after the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble that Matt Riddle had a brief conversation with Brock Lesnar in the backstage area.
For many years, Matt Riddle has said on social media and in interviews that he wants to retire Lesnar from WWE one day. However, prior to the Royal Rumble, the two Superstars had never discussed the possibility of working together.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy in June 2020, Matt Riddle confirmed that Lesnar told him they will never face each other in WWE.
“And I’ll be honest, at first, I was just like, ‘Awww [disappointed], I got this far and you’re literally holding me like this [tightly].’ Like, he’s holding me like we’re friends but we’re not. And then he [Lesnar] tells me, ‘It’s never going to happen.’”
Matt Riddle also said that, contrary to how his previous comments might have sounded, he has respect for everything that Lesnar has accomplished in WWE and UFC, which is why he was so keen to work with him.
#2 Pete Dunne wants to face Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne defeated Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly at WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland in February 2020 to win the NXT Tag Team titles.
The unlikely allies, known as The BroserWeights, retained the titles against Fish and O’Reilly in a rematch on NXT in March 2020.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dunne was unable to travel back to the United States to defend the titles, meaning he was replaced in the tag team by Timothy Thatcher.
Reflecting on his tag team partnership with Matt Riddle, Dunne said in an interview with talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy that he would like to face The Original Bro in a singles match in WWE one day.
“In the moment it was brilliant and we had way more defences in us and who knows, maybe we would have got to face each other down the line, who knows? I feel like there was so much to do there and it’s such a shame that it’s gone. But hopefully one day down the line, whether it’s on SmackDown, in NXT or NXT UK, whatever happens, hopefully we can recoup that [and] finish it how we were supposed to.”
Matt Riddle defeated Dunne at IPW:UK Extreme Measures in April 2017, while Dunne picked up the victory when they faced each other at a Fight Club: PRO show in February 2018.
With the exception of NXT live events, the two men have never gone one-on-one in WWE.
#1 Goldberg did not want to face Matt Riddle
Never one to shy away from an opinion, Matt Riddle gave his brutally honest view on Goldberg’s in-ring work after the WWE Hall of Famer’s match against The Undertaker at WWE Super ShowDown 2019.
Goldberg legitimately knocked himself out in the early stages of the match, causing the rest of the nine-minute encounter to be full of miscommunications and uncoordinated moves.
Matt Riddle wrote on Twitter after the match that Goldberg is “unsafe, dangerous and a liability to everyone else”.
Matt Riddle met Goldberg for the first time at WWE SummerSlam 2019. The Original Bro repeatedly said "bro" during the conversation, prompting Goldberg to say on two occasions, "I'm not your bro."
One month later, Goldberg was asked in an interview with Eyes on the Game's Helen Lee about a possible match against Matt Riddle.
“Matt who? I don't even know who that is. I don't answer questions about people who haven't made it yet. Riddle has a long way to go.”
Since then, Matt Riddle has left NXT and joined the SmackDown and RAW rosters. Goldberg, meanwhile, has not appeared on WWE television since Matt Riddle’s call-up.
