The controversy surrounding Matt Riddle and the UK-based promotion Global Wrestling Kingdom appears to be heading towards a resolution. The promotion has announced that Riddle has returned his deposit for the event he was scheduled to appear at on Sunday, August 31. The news comes after a public back-and-forth between the two parties, with Riddle denying the initial “no-show” allegations and the promotion pushing back on his claims.
The situation began when Cultaholic reported that Riddle had no-showed the “A New Kingdom Rises” charity event in Barnsley, England, and had not returned his deposit. Riddle was scheduled to face Simon Miller in the main event, but was replaced by Grado. The event was held to support charities for homeless veterans and survivors of bereavement by suicide.
In a new statement, Global Wrestling Kingdom confirmed that the financial aspect of the dispute is being resolved. “Mr Riddle has now paid back his deposit and has given us his word that he will reimburse his expenses too,” the promotion wrote.
Riddle had responded to the initial report with a video on his social media, where he claimed that he did not no-show the event, but rather chose not to attend after the promotion failed to meet his travel and booking requirements. He also claimed that the show was not originally a charity event and that this aspect was added at the last minute. Global Wrestling Kingdom has since stated that the charity aspect of the show was announced in July.
Riddle was backstage at the Real American Freestyle event on Saturday and then competed for an independent promotion in Florida on Sunday, the same day as the UK show.
