Matt Riddle was released from WWE this past September after spending years with the company alongside several other stars. He has since joined MLW and NJPW and is starting to open up on his time in WWE.
Outside of the ring, Riddle got himself in hot water for various reasons, including his rehab stints for substance abuse issues, causing him to fail WWE’s wellness policy, his issues with an adult film star who alleged he cheated on her to do drugs, and more.
During an interview with The MMA Hour, Riddle noted he failed multiple drug tests while in WWE for cocaine.
Ariel Helani: “The original offense was it not public? Do people not know they didn’t make any of the offenses?
Riddle: “Probably. I think they just wanted to keep it on the hush-hush, which I completely understand, you know, and they punished me as I got fined.”
Helani: “Can I ask what it was for?
Riddle: “You’re allowed to smoke weed. I went to the strip club and did some cocaine a couple of times. And I failed the drug test. That was the first one. That was well, that was for all of them. It was cocaine each time. But it was honestly just random nights, and the first drug test I took, WWE tests you randomly say any week, but sometimes you get tested, say, at the end of one month and the beginning of another month. So there was one week where I failed bang bang, didn’t know I failed the second one. And by the time I thought I failed the first one, I got two right at once. So I think that’s why they were a little more lenient with us.”
Regarding the JFK Airport incident, he said that he was flying back from a WWE tour in India and had a bad ear infection. He also had some cocktails. Riddle called it a perfect storm, and he considers it a sign to himself that he was overworking himself as he got back into things too quickly.
Riddle said that doing a four-day tour and then going to India in a day and a half took a toll on him.
Matt Riddle talks the JFK Airport incident#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/WCI5FexGKJ
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 28, 2024
Matt Riddle says he failed multiple times for drug tests in WWE. He says it was cocaine each time. pic.twitter.com/YtVowjAXHx
— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) February 28, 2024
