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A controversial star wrestled in WWE for several years. However, he has revealed that the company initially did not sign him due to a major reason.
Matt Riddle joined WWE in 2018 and became a prominent figure on NXT. He wrestled for the brand for a couple of years before moving up to the main roster, where he formed a successful tag team with Randy Orton called RK-Bro. During his WWE tenure, Riddle received several second chances and faced multiple suspensions for violating the company's wellness policy. The breaking point came when he accused an officer at JFK airport of allegedly sexually assaulting him. It was later reported that he was under the influence of alcohol during the incident. A couple of weeks later, he announced his departure from the company.
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During a recent interview with Marcus Buff Bagwell at WrestleCon Indianapolis, Matt Riddle revealed that he had an early trial with WWE. However, he failed a drug test, and so the company passed on him.
"WWE, I actually, I started wrestling on the Indies. I had a trial super early on, and they were super high on me. And, but because I failed a drug test and back even back when I did this trial, cannabis was still kind of taboo. Even in America, there's still legal places and medically growing, but still a little taboo. And they said, 'We're gonna pass on you.'"
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He went on to say that even New Japan was interested in him, but they also eventually passed after learning about his past.
"So I just wrestled the Indies, and I just said, 'I'll just become undeniable, so you don't have a choice.' And then eventually, I just kept wrestling. New Japan offered me something. The same thing. Hey, your UFC thing. And I was like, 'Well, you know, lot of people would give up now, but I'm going to keep going and grinding." [9:36 - 10:19]
Former WWE star Matt Riddle reveals the struggle he faced early on in his career
Given his MMA background, it's no surprise that Matt Riddle brings a marked legitimacy to his arsenal when he steps into the ring. He can also perform insane moves in the squared circle. However, it didn't take long for him to realize that professional wrestling is a whole other ball game from MMA.
During a recent exclusive interview with Kevin Kellam, Riddle said when he first transitioned into wrestling, he could perform all the moves but struggled to connect with the fans, which is a big part of being a pro wrestler.
"I'll say this - when I got into pro wrestling, I was like, 'I can hit all these moves and execute them and do them sick!' But if you're not connecting with the audience or telling a story or registering certain things and really making a connection with the audience, you're not wrestling, you're just doing moves. So I think that the hardest part for me to connect with was that. So when I started, I was like, 'I got this,' and then I just felt so awkward walking out and I didn't know what to do! Eventually, I came into my own." (1:48-2:25)
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Matt Riddle.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit WrestleCon Indianapolis and add H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcript.
