The tense, televised backstage confrontation between Matt Riddle and Goldberg at SummerSlam in 2019 is a well-known moment among wrestling fans. However, Matt Riddle has now revealed that a second, untelevised conversation took place where he told the WWE Hall of Famer to his face, “I just don’t think you’re that great of a pro wrestler.”
The heat between the two stems from Riddle’s very public and often harsh criticism of Goldberg’s in-ring work, which he posted on social media. This led to their initial confrontation, which was caught on camera for a WWE Network special. Riddle has now provided the details of their follow-up conversation.
“Very Disrespectful and Rude”
Speaking on the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast with Branson Quirke and Alvin Iraheta, Riddle recounted the second meeting. He explained that Goldberg once again expressed his displeasure with Riddle’s public comments.
“Well, we have one talk that’s filmed right. And now we talked again, and that was also filmed, but that was never brought to the forefront. And I can tell you what happened in that conversation. He came up to me again. He said he found me very disrespectful and rude, and I don’t understand the business. And I go, I see your point.”
“You Never Had to Grind”
Riddle then detailed his response to Goldberg. He acknowledged Goldberg’s status and financial success but criticized his in-ring ability and argued that Goldberg never had to “grind” his way up through the wrestling business from the bottom as he did.
“And then I go, I just don’t think you’re that great of a pro wrestler. And he goes, Oh, well, my bank accounts huge and this and that. And I go, Bill your bank account….And I mean, this will probably always be bigger than mine, but at the end of the day, nobody is going to go back to watch that Bill Goldberg 30-minute classic match… His best match is probably with DDP. Shout out to DDP… But let’s be real, other than a couple of spears and a jackhammer, that’s about it… I would never want you to run or teach a school, because you really don’t understand. And you were pushed so far to the forefront, you don’t get you know, you really don’t, because you never had to grind, you never had to work. Even when I was in the UFC, after I got fired, I went to a wrestling I went to the Monster Factory started from square one and worked my way to the Indies to WWE… When it comes to an in-ring technician, being a person who knows what they’re doing, being able to work safely and keep it real and snug, I’m at the top of the list. And I think anybody that knows professional wrestling would agree with that. Well, Bill Goldberg, on the other hand, not so much. He’s a liability. He is dangerous.”
Riddle is currently the MLW World Champion and has upcoming dates with GCW and other independent promotions. You can hear the full interview on the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit TMZ’s Inside The Ring with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
