Booker T thinks Matt Riddle’s previous indiscretions cost him his WWE career.
On September 22nd, Riddle announced he’d left WWE, bringing an end to his five-year run with the company.
The star 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.
Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, NXT announcer Booker T gave his thoughts on Riddle’s departure. The WWE Hall of Famer said that WWE had seemingly run out of patience with the star, and he’d become a liability.
“We were just talking about Riddle and what did I say that day? I said that’s only going to be tolerated so much. I think I said something like that. You know, you can get away with that kind of stuff only for so long.
It catches up with you because then you become a liability. You don’t want people in the news for negative reasons. That’s the last thing you want. The last thing you need is having someone in the news for negative purposes.”
Another veteran with little sympathy for the star is Dutch Mantell, who claimed Matt Riddle was “own worst enemy” during his WWE run.
Matt Riddle Ran Out Of Chances In WWE
Following his release, it was reported that one WWE higher-up said Matt Riddle has simply burned through too many chances with the company. In the wake of the incident at JFK airport, Riddle stopped being factored into creative, but he reportedly remained in good spirits ahead of being let go.
In a more recent episode of his podcast, Booker T has blasted wrestling insiders for “killing the business.”
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co