Matt Riddle made his TNA debut at Turning Point when he replaced Trey Miguel, who could not appear due to travel issues. Riddle teamed with Zach Wentz and KUSHIDA to take on Ace Austin and The Hardys. Ultimately, the babyface goes over after Jeff pins KUSHIDA after hitting the Swanton Bomb.
Fightful reported that Riddle found out about the situation and ended up working the show. TNA sources that Fightful spoke with in TNA stated, “They were happy about the live reception to Riddle but wouldn’t commit to using him again in the future.”
While speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri of SHAK Wrestling, Riddle explained how the appearance came together before noting that he is still waiting to get paid for the match that took place on November 29th. However, he did point out that they have a “three-week thing,” indicating a delayed payment system.
“I’m not under contract with them or anything like that. I saw a company that was kind of in need and I saw one of my friends, Zachary Wentz, was definitely in need, his boy was out. It just made sense. I’ve teamed up with them and teamed up with Jeff before in the past, and I’ve never wrestled the Hardy Boys. I’ve wrestled Jeff by himself. For me, I had never done TNA, [but I] wanted to do that. Can’t really pass up an opportunity to wrestle the Hardy Boys. If somebody is hurt or in need and something is not going to work right with the show, I’m more than happy to hop in. Plus, I got an extra payday, which didn’t hurt the weekend. Still waiting on that, but they have a three-week thing or two-week thing, I don’t know. I kind of like my money upfront. They did great. It was a random thing. I don’t have any plans with them in the future. They have spoken to me. They speak highly of me and to me. They’re very nice to me. I don’t think it’s impossible, but right now, my home is MLW. Luckily, I work for a company like MLW that wasn’t going to crucify me for helping. It wasn’t just me doing the show or trying to get cash, it was me trying to help out my friends. I’m glad MLW and all the people there supported me with the decision.”
TNA says that Matt Riddle was in fact paid on December 23 for his appearance.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 10, 2025
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Shakiel Mahjouri of SHAK Wrestling with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
