Matt Riddle is set to join a promotion he has previously been a part of.
On December 21st, all of the WWE Superstars who were released back in September became free agents, meaning that they were free to compete in rival promotions. On the same day that his 90-day no-compete expired, Riddle was announced to be returning to Major League Wrestling.
A video was posted on MLW’s social media channel, which showed highlights of Riddle’s brief stint in the promotion. The end of the video confirmed that the former United States Champion’s first opponent will be Jacob Fatu on January 6th 2024. The appearance had been heavily rumoured ahead of time as Riddle was spotted on advertising material ahead of the announcement.
Matt Riddle joins #MLW. pic.twitter.com/3fAFTYYHHs
— MLW (@MLW) December 21, 2023
Riddle previously competed in the promotion from late 2017 to 2018 before going on to sign with WWE later that year. While appearing on Busted Open Radio, MLW founder Court Bauer said the following in regards to Riddle being a part of the promotion once again:
“We started talking to him in the late fall about having a future with MLW and seeing what we could do with him. We’re looking at a really strong 2024 with Matt being part of that and hopefully beyond. We’ll see what happens. He’s a great guy. He kind of sounds like James Franco when he talks and has that surfer mentality, but he’s from Allentown, Pennsylvania.”
When asked about the length of time that Riddle will be a part of the promotion, Bauer said the following:
“It’s open. He’s going to be on virtually all of our shows going forward. Where that takes us down the road, we’ll see. He’s able to work for other places, just to let everyone know that. He’s primarily with us. He’s going to be with us and there is going to be other stuff coming down the road that he’ll reveal on his own, but we’ll be one of his bigger focuses.”
In recent news, Matt Riddle issued a challenge at NJPW New Year Dash.
Matt Riddle’s Infamous WWE Release
While most of the WWE releases that took place in September were seemingly cost-cutting measures, The Original Bro’s departure was announced following a string of controversial incidents that took place. The final straw came about in September when Matt Riddle accused a police officer of sexually assaulting him at an airport in a social media post that was later deleted. Furthermore, footage from that same day was further released which saw Matt Riddle seemingly drunk at the airport.
When Riddle’s release was announced, many believed that the former WWE star had heat with management and had burned through one too many chances with his actions.
H/t to Fightful.