In last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE has changed their stance on Matt Riddle. That does not guarantee that they are about to sign him but it’s interesting that he pulled out of independent dates in Ireland on August 18 and 19. OTT Wrestling announced that Riddle had to pull out because of a scheduling conflict.
The timing is certainly interesting because those dates fall on SummerSlam weekend. WWE had stayed away from signing Riddle because he was fired by UFC because of his marijuana drug test failures. Marijuana use is not a fireable offense in WWE but the company apparently wanted to stay away from signing someone who was fired by his previous company.
Thankfully for Riddle, they have softened their stance. Bryan Alvarez was recently asked on Twitter about Riddle and he indicated that he may be WWE-bound. “Nothing official but my feeling is it’s happening,” Alvarez said.
Nothing official but my feeling is it’s happening. https://t.co/0yZ0Amg9hE
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 22, 2018
Riddle began his wrestling career on the independent scene in 2004 and he has amazed fans because he picked up on everything so fast. Many have compared him to Kerry Von Erich. In April, he defeated Zack Sabre, Jr. to win the Evolve Championship.
Riddle is also a former champion in many promotions including Progress, PWG (tag team champion with Jeff Cobb) and he won “Most Improved” and “Rookie of the Year” honors in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.