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EXCLUSIVE: Matt Riddle Admits He Was His "Own Worst Enemy" During His Time In WWE

Matt Riddle will always stay true to himself.

Steven Muelhausen

WWE.com

Matt Riddle possesses every attribute to be one of the biggest superstars in professional wrestling, regardless of promotion. Riddle checks every box. He's got the look, charisma, cuts a good promo, and is a fantastic wrestler.

Despite all those positives, there are people who feel Riddle has a lot of baggage. He plays to the beat of his own drum, which led to his UFC firing in 2013 for testing positive twice for marijuana even though he had an 8-3 record with two no-contests that would been wins if he hadn't failed those drug tests.

The 38-year-old transitioned to pro wrestling in 2014 and was a natural. Applying his craft on the independents, Riddle signed with WWE. He was in NXT for less than two years before getting moved up to the main roster in the summer of 2020, where he became a tag team champion with Randy Orton as the infamous RK Bro duo.

But there were times when Riddle proved the naysayers right. He got into a verbal altercation with Brock Lesnar at the 2020 Royal Rumble after the former said he could retire the former UFC heavyweight champion. Riddle also had an incident with Bill Goldberg at SummerSlam 2019 as he criticized the former WCW heavyweight champion's performance against The Undertaker earlier that year. Things got worse for Riddle as in the summer of 2020, a female independent wrestler named Candy Cartwright accused him of sexual assault back in 2018, and ended up filing a lawsuit against him and WWE. Riddle admitted he had a consensual sexual relationship but denied the assault allegations.

In late 2022, WWE suspended Riddle for the second time for failing a drug test. This time it was for cocaine, and Riddle got suspended for 60 days. The straw that got Riddle his walking papers was in September 2023, after he got drunk which led to an incident at a New York airport. Now, Riddle is back on the independent scene and is in high demand around the world.

Some people feel Riddle is his own worst enemy and was that in WWE. When asked, Riddle didn't agree with the assessment at first. But as the former UFC star went on, Riddle agreed that he could be.

β€œI would disagree," Riddle, who faces Tom Lawlor in a No-Holds-Barred Vale Rudo match for MLW on Saturday, told The Takedown.

"I'm always going to be me. It's really hard to tell me how to live my life or how I'm going to do things. I can be my worst enemy when you're working for a billion-dollar corporation that wants to look cookie-cutter and get Disney and every other sponsor to book them. Yeah, I'm definitely my own worst enemy in that sense. But I think in that sense, I'm as valuable as I am because I don't bend on certain things, and I think that's what makes me unique. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm my own worst enemy. But I'm just me. Trust me, there's a long time where I wasn't me and I would go through the motions.Β 

β€œI'm 38 years old. I'm not trying to fake anything or hide anything. Like I don't want to hide a relationship and have my girlfriend be all insecure because I won't post her. I just want her to be happy. She makes me happy. Unfortunately, I felt like at times that would upset them or other people. My girlfriend would get death threats and stuff saying that she ruined my life. I just don't find that acceptable.Β 

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β€œI would agree I am my own worst enemy. I'm also my best friend. I always have my back. I always know what I want deep down in my heart. I have a lot of buddies (that) still work with WWE. If you knew how they feel and how they act and how they hold back every second. They want to do this, but they can't do that. Trust me, people live and like, especially when you work somewhere like that, it's all about image. A lot of them just want to paint that picture of perfection. Hide anything that might be judged. You know what? I don't blame them. Well, me, I am my own worst enemy. I'm very transparent. I'm somebody that'll go right on Twitter if somebody talks crap, and I'll literally, make a video being like, β€˜You're full of it’.Β 

Even though people may not like the way Riddle goes about his business, "The King of Bros" says he will always continue to be who he is regardless of what some have to say.

"A lot of people just hide," Riddle said. "At the same time, that's who I am. I love me. I always have loved me. I’m going to continue to love me. And if I'm my own worst enemy, so be it. But I'm also the only one that's going to pay my bills, take care of me and help me every time."

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Could a future WWE return be in the cards for Riddle despite everything that happened?

"The chances of me going back, I think they're extremely high," Riddle said. "If CM Punk, who filed a lawsuit against WWE, and then raked them through the mud for a decade, then goes to the competition, I'll tell you this, if he can do that, everything can be forgiven. I know I wasn't the easiest to work with at times. I think the door is always open.

"I think the longer I'm away, the harder I work, and the more I do, the more likely I could come back. But I'll also say this, if I never go back ever again, and they never talk to me again, I'll be ok with that."

Published
Steven Muelhausen

STEVEN MUELHAUSEN

: Steven Muehlhausen is a veteran combat sports writer for various outlets including Sporting News and Yahoo Sports. He can be reached at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com and followed on Twitter @SMuehlhausenJr.

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