Matt Riddle is the latest indie megastar to join WWE, but his background made him one of the more unlikely standout athletes to join Vince McMahon’s company.
Riddle is an accomplished MMA fighter, registering an 8-3-2 record before he was ultimately released from the UFC by Dana White following a handful of failed drug tests. Despite being ranked in the top 10, Riddle was a victim to the organization’s then-stringent testing policy thanks to his use of marijuana.
After quickly picking up professional wrestling, he was successful across the independent scene in the following years, specifically in EVOLVE and PWG. Riddle’s past drug test failures reportedly kept him from competing in NJPW, and his continued pot usage was assumed to be a deal-breaker with the worldwide leader in sports entertainment.
That apparently isn’t the case for Riddle, who recently made his NXT in-ring debut. In an interview with ESPN West Palm radio, Riddle discussed believing his past would be a deal-breaker with WWE and how a conversation with Triple H quelled his nerves.
“Everybody’s excited for me,” said Riddle. “I think especially with my past and everything like that, I think people never thought I would ever be with a company like WWE, or be at this level again… Nobody really saw me going to a bigger company because of my past and just how people view me.”
“I actually got a direct call from are main man ‘Trips’, Mr. Triple H, Paul Levesque. It was good. About three years ago I was about to get signed and we talked about that because I was supposed to possibly get signed then and it didn’t happen. We talked about that. He’s like ‘we got good intentions’, made me feel good with working with NXT and working with him. Honestly, that’s why I signed up and we’ll see where it takes me.”
We’ll see where this path takes him, but assuming everything works out in the outside-of-the-ring area, he should be one of NXT’s top stars right off the bat.
(H/T Wrestling Inc)
