Matt Riddle has never been reluctant to talk himself up or put other wrestlers down. You’d think that, combined with his handsome, well-muscled look and background in MMA would make him a favorite of wrestling’s old timers who so often lament the lack of imposing contenders and old-school attitude in modern wrestling, but in fact his cockiness seems to rub them the wrong away (after all, who ever heard of a cocky wrestler?). After the Royal Rumble, there was a report that Brock Lesnar told Riddle that they’d never work together, after Riddle has long talked publicly about wanting to be the one to retire Lesnar.
There was a rumor after that about NXT telling their workers not to call out main roster stars anymore, but if you thought that was going to stop Matt Riddle, think again. Saturday night at a Las Vegas house show, Riddle went back to his old refrain about Lesnar:
I never stopped. I kept training. I knew that the dream was right there in front of me. And I’m not gonna to stop, this is just the beginning. Twelve years ago it started, and 12 years from now I’ll still be going. And I guarantee you this, Las Vegas: The Bro retires Brock Lesnar. And you know what? The Broserweights are NXT! DIY is NXT! And everybody in this building is NXT!
During an NXT Live event in Las Vegas, Matt Riddle guaranteed that he will retire Brock Lesnar.#WWENXT #NXTLasVegas pic.twitter.com/huqWzAyq5E
— Chris Toplack (@christoplack) February 9, 2020
You might think this would lead to more heat for Riddle, but in fact the Wrestling Observer Newsletter‘s Dave Meltzer is reporting that NXT officials gave Riddle permission to “follow up on the Brock Lesnar stuff.” So if it wasn’t already a work in the first place, this is probably the moment it became one. Watch the horizon for the Riddle/Lesnar match that Lesnar supposedly promised would never happen, because it’s almost certainly coming.
