Matt Riddle is an interesting case of a superstar being the sole reason that his career didn’t go past mid-card in WWE. When you take a long look back at his career then it’s no surprise that the former United States Champion’s WWE stint didn’t pan out for the long term.

Matt Riddle’s Journey In UFC

Even before Riddle touched a professional wrestling ring, he was an MMA fighter who got his big break in The Ultimate Fighter television series. Riddle didn’t win the tournament, but Dana White saw the star presence in the young fighter and gave him a contract anyway. 

Riddle was notably going up the ranks in the middleweight and lightweight divisions. In fact, Riddle seemed to be primed to fight top welterweight names since he had won four UFC fights in a row. Unfortunately, Matt failed two drug tests for marijuana in the same year. 

Once the second failed test happened, Dana White opted to release Riddle from his contract in 2013. Since then, there’s been no love loss between Riddle and White, with the UFC President calling Riddle a “Dummy” during an infamous interview with Chael Sonnen. Riddle didn’t hold back his words with White in return. Riddle would move on to Bellator and Titan FC, but he retired a short time later due to financial difficulties. 

Matt Riddle’s Journey Into Professional Wrestling 

Before Riddle even entered into the world of MMA, he was a top amateur wrestler in high school and college. The WWE alumni gave the sport another go in 2014 and he slowly built his name throughout the independent scene. Riddle fought all around the indie circuit: House of Glory, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, Revolution Pro Wrestling, and Evolve Championship.

Riddle was one of the hot names in the professional wrestling scene at this time. The guy had the “It” factor. Riddle is naturally charismatic and he was a top-notch wrestler. So when he signed to WWE in 2018, it wasn’t a surprise because it was impossible to deny his talent. 

What Ultimately Held Matt Riddle Back

There’s not much to note about Riddle’s time in NXT. His most memorable time was when he had an oddball partnership with Pete Dunne. This isn't to say that he had a forgettable run down in the NXT brand like EC3 or Elias, as there are plenty of good matches that Riddle had in the black-and-yellow brand. 

But this was the golden age of NXT; so the hottest angles circled around The Undisputed Era, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa. Riddle found his groove when he was paired with Randy Orton, two years after he made his debut on the main roster. 

He floated around Smackdown and RAW as a solid mid-card act, but there wasn’t much depth with him beyond being a stoner. His partnering with Orton freshened up his act and allowed him to show some dimension in the process. Riddle and Orton were a very fun act, with the intrigue of these two feuding always looming in the background. 

But once Orton became injured, WWE tried to push Riddle as a singles star and it was working. There was a genuine buzz for him possibly beating Reigns for the WWE Universal title in their Smackdown encounter. His feud with Seth Rollins reinforced that Riddle can be a believable top star as that sit-down interview is one of the highlights of his career.

It genuinely seemed that creative saw Riddle as a future main event star. Until his rumored 60-day suspension for WWE’s Wellness Policy occurred. This was on top of the sexual allegations he had to deal with a year prior. While the lawsuit was dropped in July 2021, it was still a bad look for the company because WWE continued to push Riddle as if nothing happened. 

His suspension felt like a strike two for the 37-year-old. Though it hasn’t been proven that those allegations were true, the fact that Riddle kept getting into bad situations deterred the company from giving him the main event treatment. 

So he was essentially a jobber to the stars when he made his return this year. Triple H either lost faith in Riddle as a top guy or wanted to test the waters first before giving him anything serious. Can you blame him? Matt Riddle’s personal life was starting to be littered with controversy, and a man with sexual assault allegations is not particularly the person you want as the face of your company.

The final straw was the airport incident. The moment itself wasn’t what caused Riddle to be fired. He was just more trouble than he was worth. Riddle was on the cusp of grabbing the brass ring until his personal life took hold of his professional life. He became a corporate liability. 

There was no way that the company could plaster his face around billboards and posters because his name was losing value in the eyes of fans and media. Given his age, it’s doubtful he’ll return to the company anytime soon. It’s a shame, as Matt Riddle was one of the hottest names in WWE in early 2022. Had he been on the straight and narrow, then he would’ve been a future WWE World Heavyweight Champion.