Matt Riddle‘s time in WWE has included a fair amount of off-screen feuds and backstage rumors along with the Original Bro’s in-ring accomplishments. He’s beefed with Goldberg and declared he’ll retire Brock Lesnar, but does he have the kind of backstage heat that could hold back his career? In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Riddle says he does not. In his words:
I’ll tell you this. Do I have heat with WWE or NXT or the people that run the show? No. Do I have heat with some people who think I’m disrespectful at times because they don’t understand how business works? Yes. Do people take things too seriously? Yes.
And honestly, I’ve had to give talks at NXT, is not like I stopped the place, but it’s like, interjecting. I’m like, ‘Hey. I’m going to tweet or say something that offends you. Realize I’m not trying to actually offend you, I’m just trying to make people think I am. I’m putting out an image, a facade, you know?’
Riddle points out that at the end of the day, his coworkers don’t sign his checks:
If the employer’s happy and I can make them money and make them a profit, and I’m worth my weight and I’m pulling my weight, I don’t see a problem. To answer your question, yes, some people I have heat with. But most of it’s just high school, catty, ‘He said this,’ people who just can’t take a joke or a work.
In the same interview, Riddle gave his take on the booking of the recent Universal Championship reign of Goldberg, who he’s criticized in the past for wrestling unsafely. The NXT Tag Team Champion observed that “If Bray Wyatt wasn’t as good as he is and so charismatic… he wouldn’t be able to survive” the way he lost the title to Goldberg.
Riddle also wasn’t crazy about the way Goldberg lost the title.
I don’t think it was a poor move bringing him back for a match, but to bring him back to win the title, to destroy the character like The Fiend being so unstoppable and then just have Braun Strowman beat him… You know, it doesn’t really do much for Braun Strowman beating him. It’s not like it was a passing of the torch or a great match. It was a couple of spears and a powerslam… As a fan, like yourself and myself, we all agree and every fan that watched that, even if they wanted Braun to win or whatever, was disappointed.
