Matt Riddle discussed his interactions with Vince McMahon while in WWE as well as the allegations against the former WWE CEO and Chairman while appearing on Sunday Night’s Main Event.
A lawsuit alleged that McMahon had been involved in a sex trafficking and abuse scandal from a former WWE employee, Janel Grant. The company and former exec John Laurnatis were also named in the suit.
“Well, people say that [being surprised], and granted, I had no idea of anything going on. I don’t even politic my own matches. I show up and do my job. Honestly, if you watch any of his work from in-ring performances, the things he said and did, logic would tell you alone. Especially me, personally, all the good wrestlers that play good characters, that’s them. It might be turned up by ten or 100, but that’s them. When I see Vince do all the things he’s done from the 80s, 90s, early 2000s, I was not surprised. Some of it, a little, but yeah, the guy is a billionaire that owns a company. He’s done it all, seen it all, and wants to do more and see more. I don’t know. I’m not a billionaire. Yeah, I wasn’t the dude (alleged in the lawsuit). Brock was the dude he was talking to. It wasn’t me. So yeah, I really have no comment other than that. I’m not surprised. I hear people say they’re surprised. I’m not surprised. The guy was a maniac.”
Riddle then recalled his first interaction with McMahon.
“Awesome [his interactions with McMahon]. He thought I was goofy. If anything, the first time we met, he didn’t like me because I was goofy. And I was like, he’s like, ‘You’re goofy.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m goofy, but that’s a good thing.’ He’s like, ‘Being a goof isn’t a good thing.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I’m a goof that can kick your ass, so,’ and then you [can] tell him that didn’t make him happy. And then Bruce Prichard hopped in, and it was like, ‘Hey, Vince, he’s pretty good at wrestling. Trust me.’”
Riddle also discussed how he stands out from other wrestlers.
“Well, I think for me, my character is completely different than anybody else. And the thing with pro wrestling is everybody goes out there. We’re all trying to win a match. We’re all trying to be unique and different. But we’re all pro wrestling each other. And that’s what we do. So how do I make myself stand out on a show where there might be nine other matches of people doing exactly what I’m doing? Well, I don’t wear shoes. I’m careful. I don’t wear any padding because I don’t need to use more mixed martial arts strikes and knees and submissions and stuff like that. But I also have the flare-up, making high-flying moves and flips off the top, and I’m acrobatic, and I could do all that. And at the end of the day, I connect with adults because I’m, you know, 420 friendly, and I fought in the UFC, and I connect with kids because I’m goofy as hell, and I ride a scooter around, and I make corny jokes. So it’s, you know, in progress when I think a lot of people try to cater to a certain mark, I want to be cool or this or that. And me, pro wrestling is catering to the world.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit SNME with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
