Matt Riddle signed with WWE in 2018, debuting in NXT as a barefoot MMA-inspired competitor, where he quickly rose through the ranks, feuding with wrestlers like Kassius Ohno and Pete Dunne.
In August 2019, Riddle and Dunne captured the NXT Tag Team Championship, holding it until November. He was moved to the main roster in late 2020 (losing the "Matt" in his name, courtesy of Vince McMahon), and won the United States Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Bobby Lashley and John Morrison at Elimination Chamber 2021.
Later that same year, he partnered with Randy Orton to form RK-Bro, winning the RAW Tag Team Championship twice; first at SummerSlam 2021 and again in 2022. The team disbanded after Orton's back injury in May 2022.
Riddle's tenure included two Wellness Policy violations for drug tests, resulting in a 60-day suspension in 2022 that sidelined him until after WrestleMania 39. Pre-WWE sexual misconduct allegations from the 2020 #SpeakingOut movement were investigated and cleared by WWE, but he was finally released in 2023, following an incident at JFK Airport where he accused a Port Authority officer of sexual harassment.
He's now working the independents and doing his utmost to stay relevant. Now, Riddle has recalled another incident in WWE, where he had backstage heat with one of the company's top stars.
Explaining that he'd stated in an interview that he could beat Roman Reigns in a legitimate fight thanks to his MMA background, Riddle claims to have later received an angry message from the Original Tribal Chief.
"Oh, dude. He flipped out. He texted me, 'Not cool dude.' And I was like, 'Oh shit.' I apologized. So I wrote this long apology," Riddle said. "I go, 'Randy, how does this look?' He goes, 'Nah, this isn’t right.' He fixes the text. He goes, 'here,' and it was basically like, 'My bad, bro, maybe we’ll work someday soon.'"
"We’ve worked since then. The guy loves me," Riddle claimed, adding, "I would beat him in a fight, though. That’s just real."
The former WWE Superstar burned many bridges while he was in WWE and has burned even more since being fired by the company. It's doubtful that he'll ever return to the company, and AEW doesn't seem to have much interest in signing him either.
This incident with Reigns arguably pales in comparison to how much he angered the likes of Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg, two veteran wrestlers who confronted Riddle backstage after he made derogatory comments about them in interviews.
You can watch the full interview with Riddle in the player below.