Matt Riddle has been released by WWE.
On September 22nd, Matt Riddle announced that his time with the sports entertainment giant had come to an end. Riddle had been a controversial figure for some time and he had struggled to recapture his previous momentum in 2023.
The former United States Champion was written off television in December 2022, and it was rumoured this hiatus was due to a second failed drug test. The star returned to Raw following WrestleMania 39 but was recently embroiled in more controversy after accusing an officer at JFK airport of sexual assault. Following the incident, Riddle was removed from the September 11th episode of Raw and hasn’t wrestled since.
A new report from Fightful Select has suggested that Riddle was never planned to return following the incident despite speculation to the contrary. Following the incident at JFK airport, he was taken off the road and not factored into creative plans going forward.
Riddle was said to be in good spirits during this period, but there were no plans for him to return.
One WWE higher-up suggested he’d simply burned through too many chances with the company.
There have also been reports that Matt Riddle had heat at one stage for ignoring scripts for his promos.
How Long Was Matt Riddle With WWE?
Matt Riddle made his wrestling debut in early 2015 after a spell with UFC. After starring on the independent scene, the Original Bro signed with WWE in 2018 and found success in NXT before moving to the main roster.
Although initially a singles wrestler, Riddle enjoyed his most popular run alongside Randy Orton as part of RK-Bro. The pair went on to win the Raw Tag Team Titles twice before being beaten by The Usos, who unified the gold with the SmackDown Titles. Due to injury, Orton hasn’t wrestled since.
While Riddle was never World Champion in WWE, he leaves the company as a three-time Tag Team Champion, former United States Champion, and Dusty Rhodes Classic winner.
Prior to his release WWE had big plans for Matt Riddle’s team with Drew McIntyre.