Matt Riddle Gets Honest About WWE Firing, Rehab, Controversies, MMA Comeback | The MMA Hour

the super king of bros who is uh going to be competing here in New York in particular in uh Queens at the Melrose Ballroom yes it's intimidation games tomorrow February 29th Thursday it's Matt riddle against big bad Tito is he there is the super king of bros there there he is oh yes what up man how are you man I'll my titles next to your titles dude amazing how are you sir how are you man good to see you thank you for coming in he thanks for having me appreciate it I don't you ever been in studio look at look at this place dude congrats thanks man for a while but I appreciate that uh you've been on Via Zoom we've done interviews in person but never in studio this is great you came in I think a day early to do this right I did was that anyon I came in today this morning but a day early because I wrestled tomorrow so tomorrow would you usually come in tomorrow if you're wrestling that night I'd probably come in later tonight okay you know I probably would have got in tonight slept got to the show early tomorrow do my thing and uh tomorrow we have a double header so two shows one night is it mlw two shows well they do the the TV taping and then they do another show for YouTube as well so we're hitting both sides okay I love the merch yeah little this is new Rude Dude you know been rocking it it's a little Persona I've been working out you know I'm the king of Bros the original bro but you know sometimes when I'm a little feisty I'm a rude dude I like it and where can people get this oh right now you can get it when uh you see me in person okay you know I'm getting a website up but I don't think I'd be able to handle all the orders and I kind of like doing things myself having that Hands-On touch you know what I'm saying and uh this is I do believe the uh New Japan TV title that you just won right look at that right there is that the one yeah dude won this in seoro Japan the other day against tanahashi son the president of New Japan so yeah pretty uh pretty big deal pretty excited and uh it was my first time in Japan as well and uh wow that your first time I know I've been to China I've been to Australia I've been been everywhere Saudi been everywhere else never been to Japan it was definitely on the bucket list and not only did I get to do it I wrestled the president and I won the television World Championship bro what is it like wrestling in Japan you know it's different it's different it's not it's not the same as wrestling in America I feel kind of like MMA very quiet and then when you give them something to clap about they clap they appreciate and then they're back to wait to see what you do next you know which is a little different than WWE because a lot of times WWE you're like you're waiting for like or even in America you're waiting for uh the crowd and you feel it and then you go to the next thing while in Japan I feel like you got to make them feel it you know they don't guide you you guide them interesting and what's that one this is the combat One World Championship won that the other day as well so I've just been stacking titles you know I figur I'd just bring the collection I like it you know I didn't bring all the other titles I've won in the past you know that'd be too much too much carry on but this one I could squeeze on my back so how is life post WWE life post WWE you know I feel like a lot of people would say it's like oh man sorry you know you got fired you know but for me I feel like it was just right kind of like you know getting fired from the UFC than finding pro wrestling I feel like getting fired from WWE happened at the right time not saying I won't go back or saying I will go back you know there's no no discussion there but at the same time you know I just had another kid little MTH and uh with the w we schedule it's a it's a lot you know you know it's like granted you're not getting kicked as 100% in the face but it's four days a week non-stop traveling and you're never home you know like you know it's just it's very rough and then uh having another kid it kind of you know it's not the best way you know wish I left on better terms per se you know but at the same time I think it was the right move for everybody why was it the right move uh well I think for me personally just like I said the schedule was getting to me it just never home never had time for yourself you know especially when you have a girlfriend and she's pregnant with the new kid and there's a lot of things you got to take care of but you're never home to take care of them and now my schedule is kind of busy still but I kind of pick my moments like I can have a week off you know or maybe two weeks off and kind of work overtime the other two weeks while before I was kind of just working over time you know you say this uh with like four months sort of post WWE under your belt did you feel that way the day you were told that you were going to part ways or is this something is this a conclusion that you've come to over time honestly for me and you know it's probably just from my experience with the UFC yeah I thought I was going to get fired a long time ago just because I don't know like when I got fired from the UFC I was on a four-fight win streak and then I got fired so after that I'll be honest I just think I'm going to get fired any yeah you know because you just never know you know some guys don't some guys do so I just that's how I always played it and then after you know I went to rehab and stuff like that and I got out I didn't even think they were going to bring me back it was Mania season I wasn't on Mania and a lot of times they do the budget cuts right after there so I was like think it's already choing block time and that didn't happen then TKO emerger and then plus my Shenanigans you know just acting a fool half the time didn't help things and uh yeah but at the same time like I said I think it was best for everybody and honestly the day I got fired I remember I was and I don't mean this in a bad way it's not like mean I'm not it's not a dig to WWE but it was probably one of the biggest reliefs I've had in a long time because for the last seven years I was like under contract with them working very hard and before that I was working really hard to get there and just seven years I didn't take one big vacation like they give you vacation but I always made sure I didn't miss work and I never I didn't take a vacation in like seven years wow you know I think my vacation was my time in rehab that if you added up all my weeks over the seven years probably the amount of time I spent there was my vacation time that I earned over the course of seven years you mentioned Shenanigans are you are you referring to the incident at JFK well there's well just incident JFK you tell this is September of last year right what happened well what happened there was we had a tour in India it was just a one-day tour we flew to India and then flew back from India right back and forth I think we got there we landed we had a couple hours at the hotel went to the venue did the show then flew back to the States and on the way back you know when you fly you feel some pressure and stuff like that I thought it was just air pressure I had a really bad ear infection and then of course you had a couple cocktails on top of that and then you know grab the mic you know I'm talking some crap you know flights were delayed it it was just a how would you put it just a perfect storm you know but at the same time like you know I feel like a lot of people would beat themselves up like ah but at the same time I look at it I'm just like you know I think it was a sign like I was kind of overworking myself maybe I hopped back into things a little too quick and you know doing like a 4-day tour and then going to India for just like a day and back it took its toll on me you know and I think that those kind of things took their toll on me you know before that stuff came out you tweeted about an incident with a TSA I'm Not Gon to I'm not going to go too much into detail with that incident is that the same trip that was the same trip same incident and I'll say I talked to Internal Affairs I talked to the FBI they I'm not in trouble I can assure you that I'm not going to go into details with the situation because they asked me not to unless I want to press charges and I didn't want to press charges but that's how that situation was handled but uh but at the same time if I would have had a couple drinks I would have put myself in that situation and I wouldn't have been there so at the end of the day I put myself in a situation I knew I could have possibly got in trouble and I don't think that's the reason why I got fired but I don't think it helped you know especially with the UFC merging and I was going to be making well I was written in my contract I was going to make a million dollars this upcoming year guaranteed which was a lot more than I was making last year and a lot more than I was making the year before that so I think there was multiple variables that played into my departure plus like I said I failed a couple drug tests you know the writing for for me at least the writing was on the wall I'm very good in the ring I'm entertaining but at the same time especially with WWE and just uh like how they want to be perceived I don't think I was a good fit at least at the time you know is your first time back in New York since then no I've been back in New York since I did a signing like first weekend of January here okay I I've heard you mention in other interviews like oh the UFC and WWE coming together and that wasn't uh maybe something that boded well for you do you really think that they had any type of influence on this decision I don't I don't think it was if they did I don't think it was a major decision I think uh I think at the end of the day it was a complete business move and one thing I've noticed with all these guys just like I failed a couple drug tests got fired from the UFC other people have failed drug test in the UFC and they still have jobs right so I think for the most part it was a money thing I think my maybe my value went down a little bit and for the amount they were still paying me or guaranteed to pay me I honestly think that played a bigger factor in anything okay I think money did especially wasn't the only one fired then you know a bunch of guys Mustafa Ali was fired Dolph Ziggler Nick nouth was fired you know uh Monsur B like a bunch of guys that are extremely talented were fired like Ali was scheduled for a title match in NXT the following week and got fired the week before so and it's like I don't know I mean he wasn't at the airport you know but at the same time he also got fired you know so I think a lot of it was Financial too you know because they're trying to flip it around make a bunch of money because they might sell it in a couple years themselves um you mentioned rehab mhm it it it happened in late 2022 going to 2023 and I think people thought you'd be gone for 30 days but then it came out that it was your second offense right and so your your suspension was longer correct well no well I had two offenses and then didn't come out the original wasn't known what's that the original offense was it not public did people no they didn't make any of the offenses public I think they just wanted to keep it on the hush hush which I completely understand you know and they punished me like I got fined and then can I ask what it was for what what oh uh well I fa well you're allowed to smoke weed I did I went to the strip club and did some cocaine a couple times and I I failed a drug test for that that was the first one that was the first one that well that was for all of them it was cocaine each time but it was honestly just random nights and the first drug test I took the WWE test you randomly say any week but sometimes you get tested say at the end of one month and the beginning of another month so there was one week where I failed bang bang didn't know I failed the second one and by the time I found out I failed the first one that I got two right at once so I think that's why they were a little more lenient with me he like hey we tested you back to back you failed both those tests okay and I was like okay and I go hey guys I want to show you no more problems hey you guys can test me for the next 10 weeks every week whatever and I did that and I was fine didn't fail one test whatever didn't do anything but I thought I was in the clear went out and partied a little bit and they gave me a random test at my house and I failed that and shortly after that they H had me go to rehab okay so that's their decision like they could say do we want you to go well I I would say it with them it's they they can't make you do anything right but at the same time it's like you know please yeah you're go or you know and I was like okay I'll go and I went for the 30 days and I left and uh when I left they make recommendations and they wanted me to stay another 30 days and I was like I said I I do 30 days I don't want to do another 30 days you know I miss Christmas I miss New Year's with my family it was a it was a I learned my lesson trust me I don't go out and rage it up anymore like that you know and uh I learned my lesson and they were like no like we want you to do another 30 days and I was like well I want to test get my black belt because you know uh Daniel Gracie was coming in to do belt promotions stuff so I wanted to get my black belt i' been waiting like 10 years for that and I had some money because RK bro was very successful and I cleared my bucket so I made enough money where where I could finally like buy a house so I bought a house and my aunt had cancer so I went up to see her after she actually she's good now a Mel killing it you know but uh well I didn't get to see them during the holiday so I was like hey let me go do these couple things while I leave and they were like okay and I did those and then I went back for another 30 days oh my and then I got out and then I was just waiting and this is like a month before WrestleMania and they're like oh we don't have anything for you maybe maybe Raw After Mania and I'm like dude they're gonna fire me you know is that devastating when you hear that what's that when when you hear that they don't have anything for you for the biggest show uh yeah but at the same time like at this point I was like man I just hope they don't fire me you know and uh yeah I mean it's always devastating the goal in wrestling is like to you know win these championships to be in the main event to not be the you know not that's bad to open a show but if you're main event of WrestleMania if you're Roman Reigns you know if you're you know the rain maker oot if you're in that Spotlight all the time you know it elevates you you know and that's why we work as hard as we do we try to get to that spot you know and at the end of the day like you know I I remember I my uh goal in my wrestling career was to retire Brock Lesnar and now did I ever really think I was going to retire Brock Lesnar probably not but at the end of the day me trying to get to the point to do that I was going to accomplish a lot of things and I have so far and hopefully more by the way what is rehab like like is it extremely boring dude it's horrible where are you by the way what state uh I was in Tampa okay uh it was I I I shouldn't say they put you in the strip club capital of the world I mean it seems like a bit of a dude anytime we left it would be Strip Club liquor store like yeah and I'm just like wow this place it's a real trigger you know uh honestly rehab uh it was brutal to an extent I but at the same time like I don't know I had a lot of fun yeah there's a lot of people in there and you know we're all going through something it's like almost kind of like uh if you're in the Army and you're you know you got a mean drill sergeant and you're like oh man he's the worst you know you guys kind of you know group up and you make friends yeah you Bond and you all have a similar you know Vice or something like that even if it's something different you can relate like you're struggling with something or usually if you're using drugs something's not going right in life like for me I was working pretty hard but I was also went through a divorce and with my work schedule I really don't get to see my kids and I don't get to go up and visit them as much and this that and I feel like I just replace family with like partying on the side because it's really all the only option I had well at least that's the only option I thought I had at the time were you the only famous person meaning like I mean is it I don't want you to name names like are you are you humble to the point where like you're you're wrestling in front of 50 60,000 people and now here you are in front of I mean I'll say this I was definitely the coolest guy in rehab for sure the I don't know I don't know how cool that is I was definitely the coolest guy in rehab or at least I thought I was or they thought I was uh I don't know for me it was a I I think I connect with people as well as I do in pro wrestling even in MMA is because I'm real and I'm honest and I am very humble you know and I'm not trying to like brag myself up but at the same time I was there I didn't treat anybody less than anyone else and that's just how it is I just try to keep keep it fair you know and uh of course like I said people are there for different reasons some of us are there with our jobs some of us are there because we'll go to jail for not going here but vice versa but at the end of the day we're all like like I said dealing with something some people was childhood trauma some people was you know relationships a lot of it is like divorces and stuff people set some over the edge you know they don't have that responsibility or they're not allowed to and you end up drinking or doing something you probably shouldn't be doing you know so now that you're you're independent right you can do whatever you want you're not subjected to these drug tests how do you make sure that you don't go in the complete opposite direction I think it's just the lifestyle choice I don't want to like feel that way because the thing is all a sudden reab you just you go over the cons you know and then you actually look at the pros and realize how cool were the pros and it's like with cocaine the pros were like stay up really late and feel like dog [ __ ] the next day and honestly it wasn't really wasn't like at the end of the day was it fun in the moment yeah of course that's what it does it makes you feel good but at the end of the day it wasn't fun I'd feel like crap the next day I'd be disappointed in myself and everything else so it's like one of those things where it's like I don't really need that you know also I don't make as much money so I can't you know I don't have liquid assets but uh and the big thing is just I want to look in the mirror and be happy with me and I felt like even though I was like killing it wrestling and I was in the biggest company per se making a lot of money for them it still felt like I don't know I wasn't as happy as I could have been I was happy but like and a lot of that was like I said my the ex-wife the divorce and dealing with all that stuff because it was brutal you know especially it's one thing when you deal with that it's another thing when you deal with that but you don't have time to deal with that and that you're traveling and flying and doing this and doing that and is WWE also in wrestling period isn't just wrestling if it was just me showing up to a building and wrestling a couple times a week easy but it's the traveling it's the interviews it's the promoting you know it's being all that working out being tan Being Fit you know it's everything you know and it's a it's a lot you know do you think the wrestling lifestyle and schedule affected your marriage yes if you were an MMA fighter who was fighting three times a year Max and you're just training every day do you think that this wouldn't have happened uh well I don't think it would have happened the way it happened but at the end of the day I don't think me and my ex were definitely really made for each other and at first like when we were younger uh I think what we met 23 okay pretty young fresh out of college fresh in the UFC you know but 10 years later you know and I think that's just people I think people change and sometimes people change together sometimes people change apart and I feel like we just changed completely to different directions like I feel like I went from more intense when I was in the UFC cutting weight wrestler in college and even though I was kind of laid-back compared to how laidback I am now and flexible and loose I am now compared to how I was then well I feel like she still went that direction she's definitely way more strict than me and you know more assertive than I am you know like like I said like I can't get my kids to do their homework you know like nothing like I take care of stuff but like to get somebody to do something it's like it's not really my cup of tea what was it like going through that and traveling and being on TV and having to you know and your character it's like if someone's going through that and they go to work and they sit in a c and you got to smile and be super happy that's what the boss wants yeah what was that like uh yeah you know it was brutal it was brutal because I just had to smile what time frame was this like What U just trying to like line it up with what we were the divorce went on for a while it was like probably like shortly after me and Randy started teaming up that's when it happened so during maybe the greatest run of your career you're going through this Bas this basic I don't basically I got offered a new contract for a lot more money it was for I went from like making like a quarter Milli year to making guaranteed half and then the next year seven 50 than the following year million and it was like 55750 mil and the second I got that contract I don't think it was about a month or two later and she L I came home and she's like I want a divorce this that she I want you out of the house and literally I got my stuff said sorry to the kids and a week later my my kids hit me up and were like why is a Zach's pee football coach living here and it was my son's PE coach Rob nice guy though nice guy I know see pretty flexible UFC man probably would have went a little nutty but this guy I'm like hey coach Rob nice guy he's a teacher he's nice to my kids he lives there my ex-wife and him are together now but that was like literally a week after so that probably was going on for a minute but I was traveling and always gone and you know do you have regrets no no you can't I don't no I can't I feel like I be I guess anybody could sit back like man if I would have just done that but I could have done that with the UFC man if I just didn't smoke pop that day I probably would have passed that last drug test you know with WWE it's like hm what what could I say because I feel like there's a lot of things hey if I didn't date this girl oh I wouldn't have to deal with that or if I didn't you know party that one night with this you know porn star I wouldn't have failed that drug test but damn it you know and I don't have any regrets because I made those decisions I live with the consequences or the fun or the not fun and you learn and live from it that's all you all I that's all I can do sure sure you know I just can't it's just amazing cuz like now knowing you were going through the best like you were on fire right I mean you're like Allegiance Stadium SummerSlam all that stuff and like in the highest of high yes for sure because there's like people can say whatever there's no higher high than like winning especially in front of a crowd having 50,000 th000 people screaming chanting your name doing your you start banging on the mat they start banging on the mat you know and then you go backstage and real life just hope your cell phone's not littered with abusive messages and stuff like that yeah I remember also you know it's crazy cuz when I remember when you first came into WWE I think you were supposed to debut that night right and then you were accused sure was that eventually has been dropped that got dropped in 2021 there are other women who have said some things about you do do you why is it is it a case of putting yourself in the wrong spots I like like I said I put myself in wrong situations I shouldn't say wrong situations I put myself in situations with the wrong people a lot of the time you know even those other situations granted at the end of the day I make the decision to either hook up with somebody or party or whatever but I could also not like not go to the strip club right avoid a lot of that you know maybe not date certain people you know because maybe the chick that works at Sunglass Hut with like two kids you know maybe you just think you're having a good time maybe this chick thinks you're the sugar daddy and then it's going to try to lock you down and when you're just like oh dude I thought we were just having fun now here comes the [ __ ] storm you know and there's nothing you can really do especially and when I was younger I never thought of it like this I was like oh dude like hey if you get successful be careful people try to take you down you always hear this coming up and you're like like who the hell would do that like I'm a nice guy this that and the other thing and dude and think about it before I got to WWE before I started making money none of this happened none of this stuff was a thing the second I started making money and it's clear and evident I'm on TV every week flood gates open do you feel like you have been sort of branded unfairly or labeled unfairly as well I've been labeled unfairly if it depends on how you label me you know because there's certain labels I'm definitely not you know but at the same time it's like we kind of live in a time where people don't wait for facts you know it's kind of like I don't know how you say it's like people just look for that like clip of a headline kind of like when I fought in the UFC and uh I got interviewed on a radio show and my kids are banging on my door and you know and my wife was supposed to be watching them and then people are like what's that noise I go all my kids are banging on the door I go this is why I smoke pots so I don't beat My Wife and Kids completely sarcastic the whole podcast laughed about it next day New York Times writes UFC fighter smokes weed so he doesn't beat wife and kid oh my God you know the other day I made a comment about I'm not going to say it's not true or is true I said Vince BC man's a maniac now the whole saying was hey I mean did you see what Vince used to do on TV I mean he's dropped the end bomb on TV and done other things that are extremely questionable right y That's Maniac Behavior didn't say anything in his personal life I don't know him in his personal life I just know what he did on TV and sometimes you know those lines blur a little bit you know so but everything is taken out of context and they'll take one snippet or one thing and if they can get something to bite especially these dirt sheets if they guys selling ad you know ad space and they can write an article that gets 100,000 clicks that's money and they know with me it's not too hard to do that you can write something controversial and people will click on it you know and so you just had a kid congratul did thank you are you married not officially married I don't know if I'm going to officially get married might you know might buy the ring I love you know I love Misha and uh we might do a ceremony but I don't know if I can legally after with the divorce I already did and all the paperwork and everything that goes in with legal binding marriage you know I do love like I'm with my girlfriend Misha uh I love her to death I would do anything for her we have a beautiful little baby how did you guys meet uh she she slid just like most these girls she slid into my DMs because I am not the aggressor these girls girls come to me so she she slid in and just said hey what's up and then uh well one of of the one of the ex's was making up some stories saying how I wanted to be a porn star which isn't true if I wanted to be a porn star I could go do I could do dude you know might as well tease it though uh but so she hit me up because she read the article or somebody showed it to her he goes hey if you're ever interested I produce and direct and I was like oh I'm flattered but that was X I'm not doing that whatever and she like oh okay well if you changed your mind I was like okay cool I was like oh well if you ever want to come to a wrestling show let me know if you know if we're in the area and I was in California she lives in Reno and she made the trip and that was it do you uh do you like starting over with you know your kids are a little bit older and now you have a newborn that's bro I was almost done tap you went all the way to the beginning I had yeah my girls are going to be 14 I got twin girls that are going to be 14 this summer and I have a son who just turned 11 and now I have a son who's not even one yet and I'm like oh man uh you know uh starting over it is different but uh at the same time like I don't know like the relationship I have with my kids like my kids love me I love my kids and uh I always take care of things I'm dad so I don't know I feel like the mom's there most of the time especially with my schedule even now I'm still not as around as much as I'd like to be you know but uh it's definitely different I'm older I have more money this time when I was in the UFC the first time having twins with zero dollars and living fight to fight that was brutal so now I I have a home of a couple cars modest you know they I got car seats I can drive everybody around you know uh yeah so I feel like I'm definitely way more prepared this time around and uh I'm happy about that because the first time was quite the struggle you know which also puts stress you know I talk about how me and my ex grew apart part of it is like having three kids when you get fired from the UFC and everything else and there's a lot of blames and this and it's it's rough you know that's why like I don't want to put any shame or hate on my ex because I think she's just doing the best she could just like I was doing the best I could at the time you know well we never got to see the conclusion of the RK bro story right no we have not seen the conclusion we have not so you say that in present tense well I I look at it like this you know right you never know you know Punk came back other people have come back and I also say this I'll never say a bad thing about WWE I made a post the other day being very happy about this championship and uh I wrote sometimes the grass is greener on the other time side and I said that not as a dig but where I was with the company in WWE granted my bank account was flush they were paying me very well but create creatively I felt like I was kind of plateauing I felt like making money for them I was plateauing and it just I just you know and you see it with a lot of guys you know like they get to a certain point and I just I was still happy like I said but I still felt like I had more to give and I wasn't able to give it wasn't needed from me it wasn't ask from me and I was still benefiting from it financially really well you know but uh but to be wrestling the president of the company and come in and get to go somewhere like Japan where I've never been and I just went to seoro probably next time I'll be in Tokyo and everywhere else you know so it's like I don't know it's like like for me that was a big deal I was big into Pride growing up and I always wanted to perform and compete in Japan so getting to do that that for me that was the grass greener on the other side some times you know could I ask like what the plan was how how was the story there was always a thought that he was going to turn on you right oh with Randy yeah well there there was a couple there was a couple ideas the the I would say the first one that was pitched was eventually Randy turns on you you know you guys have a feud whatever that was originally what was supposed to happen when we first started teaming there you go hey we'll have you riddle beat you like a quick one and then we'll have you team up you team up and then Randy will turn on you after you guys lose a match RKO you punt you or whatever set up for a match at backlash because it was WrestleMania backlash and we wrestled we tagged and we just hit it off and the crowd was really behind us and for some reason whenever I join random tag teams that seems to be a thing I don't know if it's my personality or my teammates but me and Pete Dunn did it me and Randy did it but then once we started teaming up we just kept it going but the original plan was for him to turn on me but then when we got to the end of it and I this was my suggestion talking to everybody in the office and even uh Randy and Randy agreed was the smarter idea would be probably if I turned on him because Randy being a legend that he is and me just being a baby face even though Randy turnam he's a bad guy thing he's a legend he's Randy he's done more pay-per-views more raws more this he's done more than like everybody like everybody like even if you boo him you like love to boo him right so I'm like guys like me trying to get like sympathy when ry's beating me up isn't going to work they're just going to cheer Randy beating me up now if I attack Randy when you guys aren't expecting it and I hurt Randy and I take him away the crowd's gonna be really mad at me and I'm gonna get like nuclear Heat and we have good chemistry and the story will play out as it shall and not win or lose I I had no idea what that but those were the two ideas granted those are like the only two options sure sure sure I never even considered the other idea which I like way better you know cuz it was see that was something I would pitch but I wouldn't pitch directly to bossman I would pitch to like producers and writers and then eventually come Boss by the way is that Triple H or Vince well back then it was Vince and Triple H but Vince was the head honcho then and then at like the end of my stint Triple H was head honcho seeing Randy back now he looks in tremendous shape he looks amazing do you do you hit him up do you do you talk to I do I stay in touch with him you know he messages me I message him we try to get on the phone but if you know me and if you know Randy that's it's hard to get me here you know yes I know I know but because I think initially he was like a little bit lukewarm towards you right yeah bar very didn't like me at all at all not at all uh uh yeah even I remember even when I was in NXT like he would make comments and then I had when I when the tag tells for p he was like I still don't like you but I get it and he said that to you he said that via Twitter and then I finally see him in person and when I see him in person I'm stoked to see him I'm like oh dude it's Randy but he seemed seemed busy you know he's talking to some of the boys so I'm like you know I walk by and I give him a KN and he I guess there was an A and E thing he we did and he talks about it how I give him the nod and he was like what a piece of [ __ ] basically like why didn't he come up and shake my hand and like you know he's in wrestling you know you do the thing I'm not hard up if you don't shake my hand it's okay but uh a lot of the guys that have been doing this for quite a while and had parents like he's generational you know so it's like they're big on that respect and the little things you know so uh yeah he didn't like me when we first met but I I have a tendency to grow on people you know and and uh who were like your guys backstage or on the road who did you really kind of I was I was big big friends with the Judgment Day you know all of them know Big Big Friend of Austin the I I had my road dogs people I'd ride with travel with but I would say I was friendly with like every single person you know even the people that like hate me you know or I hate them we were all friendly you know the only times we weren't friendly is like when my ex made comments about their girlfriends or whatever and whatever but when it came to me and everybody else like I think that that's one misconception I feel like people think a lot of people hate me in wrestling but in fact I go into every Locker Room everybody likes me or at least they're nice to my face at least maybe it's the UFC background every interview you do people ask you about Goldberg they ask you about Brock so I feel like those are so uh pronounced get this but overall you're saying you had a good relationship with everyone even you and Seth how did it end up that was mean SE I would say this like Seth I don't think we would be friends I don't think we'd go out for drinks or dinner or anything but at the same time when it comes to like sharing a locker room or being on a bus or a plane or whatever we got along very well and when we put matches together Seth's extremely talented I'm talented and we could put matches together very well the uh the buildup to Extreme Rules that was that was a playoff of DC and and Jones was we took it right out of the Playbook was that your idea as the MMA guy I don't know if it was my idea or Seth's idea it might have been Seth's it was fantastic I remember or maybe it was mine but somebody showed it to me first and was like hey what would you think because we're doing this and I was like oh this is perfect you know did you feel comfortable bringing your family into it well you know for me I think the thing with that was people talk about it and with pro wrestling what we do in pro wrestling is even if you're not a fan or you are I try to I try to blur those lines so if I'm in the ring I try to hit you but not kill you you know and then when it comes to promos I want to say something that doesn't offend you really because I don't want to offend you in real life but I want them to think I offended you and you want to kill me or vice versa and we're just at each other's necks and for me people knew me and Seth had some kind of real beef which wasn't real beef you know it was like my ex talking trash and I went up to se and apologized for her saying that and wished him and his beautiful family the best of luck and enjoyed his because he had a couple weeks off ago enjoy your time with your family you know but uh what were we talking about uh the DC Jones Recreation bringing your family bring family for me I felt like to blur the lines and get them very invested that was the best way and when we were talking promo stuff there was no Zinger like hey like what can I say I could say something about you and Becky or this or that it feels kind of stretched and I go you know what you could say and it's like why don't you call me like a dead be dad and the loser who abandoned his family damn and it's like oh are you sure and Triple H is like are you sure I'm like yeah you know like because I know like because if I didn't suggest that and you said that I'd kill you right right so plus it's further from the truth right but perception you say that you're going to infuriate me I'm GNA hurt you you know and everybody at home doesn't matter if it's a kid that has parents that are divorced or a divorced dad or a divorced mom they hear something like that everybody's like oh no like he crossed the line but we talked about it and and at the same time it's real it's still real to me but at the same time like how do I get emotion how do I get mad at this guy how do I get get that and sometimes in wrestling just like when we hit each other sometimes it's good to hit somebody for real because that's how you look when I hit you sometimes they don't look good when you you know and same thing with a promo like if I say something that's really not offensive and I act offended that's one thing but if you say something really offensive and I want to like rip your head off you can see the difference it's real so that was my take on it and Seth was with Cody rhods before that who tore his peack I was with Randy before that who hurt his back so we were looking for a way to throw us together and not just force it we and me and Seth wanted to get mileage out of it so we got SummerSlam we got Clash at the castle and we got Extreme Rules how did you think uh DC did as special guest referee it's not I'll start it off with no disrespect DC and it's a tough job it's a tough job and like you control a lot of things as the referee especially in this match because he had to do a standing 10 count or like a you know but in fighting one two three right it's quick pro wrestling take your time like one you know two DC was counting very fast fast counter okay for pro wrestling for MMA I think he did great for boxing kickboxing Muay Tha knocked it out of the par par for pro wrestling Main Event pro wrestling M it was you counted a little fast but I remember like Seth and me being like Slow Down slow down you know but uh but he he was awesome dude it it was he he was a great addition to that M that was like a lifelong dream for him yeah I don't know if you remember this but I did the the voiceover for the package yeah for the pre pre that was insane for me too they asked me to do and I was like I don't know if I and then I did it and then I remember watching I grew up a huge wrestling fan as well and I was like and they they make my voice sound a little bit better and a little bit deeper and a little and I was like holy [ __ ] I got the WWE like they no one does pre-match packages got the machine behind you got the machine it was a good feeling I have to admit it was a pretty damn cool feeling especially your connection to MMA and DC being involved and I like Seth it was wild DC maybe like the the the pants like he looked a little bit like you know like he uh what are you trying to say here well you know he look like like a Foot Locker he did look like a foot loer employee but that's just thou sure sure the referees there sure sure what is the difference between backstage when Triple H is is the head the lead and when Vince is the lead huh uh with Triple H in control a lot more control in the sense of uh things are organized things usually at least when I was there before I left things were they were scheduled for this unless something catastrophic happened or somebody got injured or something's not going to work out that's what's happening next day they write it it's actually happening with Vince and I I don't know I feel like he did it on purpose because like I I I don't know the method but like there would be a show you'd get a script on like Sunday and by Monday nobody knew what they were doing the show was being completely Rewritten and stuff like that now like I said I haven't been there in a while maybe that's happening again sometimes because things do happen but with uh Vince around it was like that probably every week just a little chaotic but I almost felt like he did that on purpose because I feel like when people know exactly what's going to happen and you're doing live TV and you're trying to get passion and like that energy but you kind of get it set in a pattern because you know what's happening this is happening and you get used to it while I feel like if you don't know what's G to happen and it's changing all the time what do I say what do I say you're all you're thinking like you're firing off at like all your cylinders are going well like you kind of get in a comfort zone if things are too planned that makes sense even with a wrestling match like if you plan everything out and you'll see it like you'll see guys like and it looks kind of like to choreog and then when you watch A Match for like they probably called it but it might be little finicky that those are usually the better matches because it's not perfectly smooth things look rougher and tougher and then they still execute them well okay you know um I'm sure you've seen the accusations uh brought upon Vince I've seen I've heard yeah what was your reaction and what is your reaction to what you've seen and read um well some of the things I've read are pretty disturbing you know if true you know and uh but at the same time like I've read the texts which are can be considered kind of disturbing in a way but the hard part for me with all this is like I don't know it just it's just it's a finicky area it just seems like he ends up in these situations there's always large sums of money involved and it's just I don't know I have no idea like I said I know my situation and how it was so like for me I feel like that's how I feel about situations just because that was my experience like being falsely accused of something you're just like uh you know and so like I don't know maybe he's falsely accused but those texts there's good amount of text it's like pretty big trial type situation a lot of money involved ndas were issued and signed at one point oh no there there's a lot of lot of red flags for sure uh I don't think it was great I think uh there's a lot of red flags in professional wrestling period you know I think there's a lot of red flags in Hollywood period and it's not a knock on Hollywood or professional wrestling I just think when you run billion dooll industries that are basically fueled by athletes or good-look people actors or entertainers and how do you choose set entertainers and Etc there's just there's a lot of room for mess you know and for me like I know like with WWE like my situation sending me to rehab doing they did and I won't say anything bad they did the best they could and what they thought was best for me you know I honestly think that I think they thought putting me in rehab throughout the holidays for that the remainder of that year they thought that was the best thing for me you know I disagree I think maybe the first month take the holidays but like to have me in there another 30 days was a little rough I think you overdid it but hey I get why you did it you're protecting yourself you're protecting your investment and you're looking out for me at the end of the day I think nine times out of 10 WWE did the right thing but there's still going to be a couple bad apples you know and I don't you know I don't know what to say but just like I said any entertainment it's it's a weird line like how do you like interviewing people for the UFC how you got to where you were when we first met when I was like it's a weird game and then to get kicked out then come back in now be where you are it's yeah right it's no it's wild it entertainment's a weird world to play and it's like a lot of politics and navigation and I don't know so but like I feel like WWE does the best they can I feel like mlw does the best they can and I feel like New Japan does the best they can and that's why I like you know try to align myself with you know these companies you know was this something like did you ever hear about uh this relationship or were there ever talks of it Whispers rumors about him doing stuff like this even some of the other accusations like did the the boys in the back know about this never I've never heard anything about bins I've seen certain people I'm not going to mention names but I've seen certain people make passes at certain female Talent by saying come to my locker room or Etc kind of like that creepy kind of thing and the at least the woman I talked to didn't go and was above that she's a stallion and was like I'm not doing that and then but like like here's my number come to my locker room now and that's where it ended but it could have es and if that person was in fear of their job or wasn't as over as they are they probably would have went there because they didn't you know what am I supposed to do damn I probably would have went there you know like I just need the job you're you're one of the few people that knows about the relationship of you know working with UFC and WWE who uh do do you think this is good like you can make the case that you know two years ago Vince was accused he he found his way back right I don't know if he could find his way back anymore given given the state of the company and who runs it now and that it's public I I feel like you know TKO is public entity I feel like this this is it this is the end if if all this is true there this is the end if B true then yeah if the if it's true then yeah it's it's over but I'll say this even if it's not true and I think this is the one thing that kind of stinks and it doesn't because if it is true good but it's like even if it's not true I don't think he's coming back you know like even if the first the woman was like never happened he didn't do anything it was all shame no I think the damage is done that's why the ND for signing in the first place because the amount of damage it could do you know and I'll be honest I've never and maybe Grant people talk crap on me all the time but I've never had anybody sign an NDA because I've never done anything to Warrant an NDA or to think an nd i maybe I should have had but but like I've never you know you know what I'm saying so I don't know I like I said I don't know his private situation I personally don't see him coming back and but I don't see him coming back it's I think in 2024 Vince isn't coming back we're starting to see blurring of lines like we saw Michael Chandler I don't know if you saw this on Raw cutting a promo on Conor McGregor yeah we're seeing WWE guys at UFC do you think this is good I I I like it as a fan of both but I see some fans telling me like no I don't want these two entities to touch each other and in particular the UFC guys to you know cut promos about real fights on raw or Smackdown how do you how do you feel do you understand where they're coming from I I think honestly it's good business for everybody it's kind of like I get it they're two different things they cohabitate you know honestly I feel like pro wrestling you watch it when you're younger you grow out of it get into MMA and then you fall back in love with pro wrestling it kind of has that shelf and I just feel like it's great for everybody and a lot of like people don't understand a lot of pro athletes football basketball baseball MMA play Like Love pro wrestling like they love the fun they love the spectacle the fireworks Showmanship the titles you know so I feel like it's awesome I think it's great and you're still going to have those fans just like when Logan Paul comes out and wrestle people boo him but it's like dude the guy draws if he didn't draw he wouldn't be there they would just give him that spot you know so there there's there's a reason why co-promoting like why you GNA have uh what is it Bad Bunny come out and hit me with a Canadian Destroyer It's like because the guy's like the highest selling in the you know you might not know him here in New York City somebody does though were you Blown Away by him H were you Blown Away by him I was blown away what do you mean meaning how good he was uh I mean I'm sure you guys helped him along the way but like yeah well I'm pretty good friends with uh his first tag partner Damen priest they did Mania together then they had the street fight and Puerto Ric uh so I felt like I was I you know I had tabs on him I knew how good he was excellent so but I think for the amount of time and he put the work in like he showed up and put the work in and at the end of the day I try to tell people if you put the work in if you put the time in like it's usually like you usually succeed like if like so bad bunny came in worked like multiple times a week on top of this busy schedule like fly in fly out whatever and yeah it showed you know and was he is the best wrestler on the show no but at the same time for somebody who's only been training a couple months to do what he did at the level he did it at the show he did it on it's crazy are you impressed with Logan very very I'm impressed with both the Paul Brothers Jake's knocking people out boxing Logan's be I mean he Logan did beat Dylan danis you know yes he did and uh a huge win yeah huge huge win uh I actually like D I like all but uh but yeah I I like Logan and pro wrestle I think but that's what I'm saying like I wouldn't mind seeing Dylan danis on a pro wrestling showard just running his mouth talking trash because people want to see him get punched in the face right or some people want to see him break somebody's arm you know and I feel like there's a lot of and I think a lot of times especially I feel like if MMA guys are getting worked up about it they shouldn't because one of the main reasons I Pro wrestle is there's money in pro wrestling I can work three or four times a week and get paid four times a week MMA you're going to get paid once twice maybe three times a year four times s a year when you fight you know and trust me like it takes its toll it's hard fighting fighting is brutal and the pay scale is even more brutal you know well pro wrestling this weekend I'm working four times wow I'm my rates I'm not going to give my rate out you know taxes St but yeah like but I do well you know do you watch the current product do you keep tabs on WW or now that you're out I I keep tabs on WW I see I see what's going on you like the Cody Rock thing what do you what would you do if you had the the pencil if I had the pencil I would make Cody uh I'd make Cody wait at least another year or two really yeah holy smokes why because because if Cody wins the title The story's over now what oh my gosh it's over so you would do rock Roman you I would do rock Roman I would even but this is what I would do this year and hopefully they do it what I would do this year is I'd have Rock Roman then Cody verth this is what I would do then I'd have Cody beat Seth M but then I'd have Daman priest cash in on C get so now but in that sense you keep the story going yeah yeah yeah right and let's be honest people want to see Cody vers rock or Roman anyways and then you still got Damen priest and Cody to fight until you want to bring back Cody back to rock and Roman so you're really playing with their emotions well you have to and the thing is I know the fans just want to see it but that's the point and if you give it to them it's over that's fair that's fair it's over and like and the thing is if I thought Cody would become an even bigger star winning the title and just holding it I'd say yeah but Cody like especially when you're a baby face like Cody it's all in the chase so the second you have nothing to chase it's over since leaving WWE have you talked to aw have I talked to a I talked to some people that worked at a worked I had a buddy that actually got fired uh and I talked to him but he got fired I was like H but no I actually I haven't reached out to aew uh all the other promotions have hit me up and reached out but uh I think another thing though and this is this is just me not aw I don't know their thoughts on me but uh with aw I for me personally I didn't want to go right back back to live TV wrestling and I know with aw because just like WWE there similarities you're wrestling on live TV you got segments you got your commercial breaks some people run heavy some people run light you got to make up time you got to shorten time here there's a lot of variables like going to TV wrestling that just aren't that fun compared to pay-per-view wrestling or Internet you know I can still be streaming but like even with WWE going to Netflix I don't think it's going to be commercial free so they actually like get to like rip you know so but like for me like I just wanted to like it's amlw we record it it's on TV it you know but I just get to go you know New Japan pay-per-view style I just go so I don't have to worry about hey get to your dive before commercial or anything I didn't want that stress on top of you know are you a fan of aw I am okay dude huge fan I think it's great you got swerve I used to wrestle with him got the bugs you got uh they just picked up Will ospry from New Japan you know they got I think they're going to take okada too I believe they got mjf mjf I've wrestled him before back in the day before I even got to the e but he's great on the mic great promo and uh dude yeah they're their roster sick and TNA enjoying a Resurgence I know looking good they got a ton of guys ton of guys you've talked to them but for now I think you're enjoying the what the you're enjoying the Indie life yeah I'm enjoying the Indie life and right now I'm really focusing more so on uh the Indies but the two companies I'm focusing on mlw I don't have the world title there yet in New Japan do they have a working relationship they have a working relationship but new Japan's pretty friendly with most companies so if you work with them you can usually work with everybody else you know except for like well no you can probably work with anybody they're pretty they're pretty good cmll too yeah cmll mlw new Jaan those are the goals I haven't worked for cmll yet I was actually just down in Tijana I wrestled in Mexico great huge crowd like 7,000 people going nuts hoop in the barricade after I won it was sick but uh but there's another company down that was for the crash but there's another company cmll that I haven't worked for yet and hopefully I get to work for soon know do do you uh is it hard going from the 60,000 seats I know you started coming up you know in the Indies and I'm not trying to say mlw NJ pwr Indies but like some of the other shows that you're doing there's probably less people oh dude is is it is that humbling is that tough for you well I think like you said I did it already so I'm kind of used to it and like to be fair even in WWE you do somehow shows that are a little light you know in random town so I'm used to that but uh the the this is the big difference between WWE or you know a well aw's close but the Indies has like a raw feeling like it's not like it's like you go to the UFC UFC is awesome it's brutal and then you like Watch Fight Club and like imagine if Fight Club was real the Indies are Fight Club okay like Indies are okay where's where's this building that one by the train station and you open up like a train door and there's like 1,500 people there like drinking beer going crazy for wrestling you know so it's just like for me like the Indies is just it's like a more raw environment but personable kind of like I don't know if you ever heard of pwg so pwg sick promotion their venues wouldn't hold more than like 5 600 people wow those crowds were so electric and insane and just as crazy as 60,000 people okay also the difference between 60,000 and like 600 one room stadiums whatever but 60,00 perfect thing is like when you're playing to a crowd if you're playing to 600 you hit your move reactions quick right it's right there spreads like fire when you got 60,000 people it still spreads like fire but like move [Music] hits this is all takes a while on the Indies you hear that this is awesome or holy what crap chant right away well WWE or say even a bigger show like the Tokyo Dome or something like that you're going to get a cheer like that it's going to take a while to form and build contagious you know when you left uh WWE I put out a tweet saying pfl should should look at you I don't know if you have interest do you have any interest in coming over to MMA yeah you know I gu I got hit up by a couple people I got hit up by bar knuckle boxing okay and I got hit up by I believe somebody from pfl I think it was a Dan Lambert and he told me to message somebody or they mess some kind of messages went by and they asked me if I was interested I said I'm definitely interested you know just you know the fight's got to be right and the money's got to be right and I haven't heard back since but to be fair I've also been wrestling nonstop and doing that because honestly when it comes to money it's guaranteed money and I show up and it's there but I would love to step back in the cage or ring by you know some point I want to do by the end of 2024 you would like to I would love to okay yeah but you got a proposition for no but we do have we do have the president of BK uh coming up Al I so you got hor you got M you got mad though with the game bre be Knuck I mean maybe get me you know give me somebody way by the way steamroll D I'm not saying he does the job for you know like a bit of a jabr let me shake off jobber type yes no I like that uh how much you weigh like what we cast I weighed 211 okay so would you be light heavy or middleweight I could probably I'll drop down to middleweight you think middleweight okay depends depends on who you give me depends on0 no more yeah oh no no I did no I did I have I have a theory that Matt riddle the pro wrestler was born do you you know what I'm going to say y I don't Matt riddle the pro wrestler was born in Calgary at UFC 149 I feel like that press conference I feel like that's when the Entertainer came out in you yeah I think is that a crazy thought that I don't think that's a crazy thought at all I think that's definitely where like I started getting more confidence you know because even when I watched videos even our interviews prior to that I was still like a kid like I still growing up you know and I felt by then that was also my first time on a UFC main card usually I was always on the under card but a bunch of people got hurt that card I came in I was you know uh so yeah but I think I think there's a couple variables and that uh I also got uh what was it submission of the night that night too so you know I was had some confidence going into that one oh yeah but too much confidence then I got fired a couple fights later yeah um Brett Hart was there yeah he was remember that yeah you know who else was there big black oh right yes he was a huge rip yeah he was a huge fan actually rip to Virgil if you know yes earlier today yes of course I loved Virgil when Virgil turned on Teddy biosi when he was like I had enough of his [ __ ] remember that yeah in the in the early 90s that was a huge moment then he showed up with the the tights with the stripes did you ever cross PA pass with him I cross PA passed with him a couple times on the Indies CU When I was coming up on the Indies Virgil had like a gimmick where he' like set up his table merch and overcharge for things but people paid it it was great he was a Legend um all right so mlw intimidation games for those that may not know what mlw is what's going on tomorrow night major mlw major league pro wrestling we're having one of our biggest shows tomorrow intimidation games I mean I believe there's like an actual like huge War type scenario a bunch of dudes fighting but I kind of focus on my own thing you know mlw is a big company I'm just a little part of it but tomorrow I wrestle this dude named bad dude Tito but I don't think he's ready for the rude dude tomorrow and I'm putting my new Japan World television Championship on the line and dude let's be real I'm not losing it there's no way I just got it I just got it I just brought it back from Japan I didn't bring it to America just to lose to some name dude named dude Tito I can't do that I'm the rude dude I'm the king of bros I'm keeping the title that's that any stipulations on this match or is it just yeah there are so the one thing I like about the TV TI is it can't go longer than 15 minutes interesting so if it does it's a draw draw okay and you keep the belt and I well I hope right unless they have a stipulation before the I have too many draws but I haven't had any draws yet but it's a 15minute Tim Li because it's made for TV matches and usually 15 minutes is the allotted slot for a TV okay and people can watch it on triller TV plus triller TV plus yes and uh this is one of many um events and matches that you're part of with ML oh yeah like we're we're doing this one tomorrow which is the 29th of February I think we have another one either the 30th or 29th of March in Tampa like every month back in Tampa back in Tampa you know strip clubs in cocaine this time yeah I'm definitely not going to go to rehab but but I'm not going to go to the strip clubs and do you know we I'll skip that too you know you're a father of four now father of four so you got to keep it on the yes right yeah love the nails by the way thanks you know I was actually going to get them done yesterday and uh slow slow business I just went tanning instead you know they're but yeah I'll get them done probably tomorrow before the show okay well lovely to see you Matt really appreciate it dude always a pleasure this was great I appreciate your your cander and your your willingness to open up I love that you're Matt riddle now and I know they brought it back later but you know that was always really weird to me that you were just Riddle That was strange I felt like everybody was like my high school coach hey rittle get over here got a first what mat uh but uh I wish you the best in this new chapter of course at home as well and uh thanks for coming in a little early I appreciate it hey thanks for having me bro you're the man there he is Matt riddle the one and only uh competing tomorrow that belt on the line thanks for watching we appreciate it very much hey if you like this video give us the old thumbs up subscribe as well you can get many more of these videos on the channel so please do that we would love you forever if you did so

Channel: MMAFightingonSBN

Views: 155,926

Keywords: mma fighting, mixed martial arts, martial arts, ultimate fighting championship, combat sports, combat tv, ufc, mma, mma knockouts, ufc news, mma fight, mma news, fighter, boxing, ariel helwani, the mma hour, mma hour, helwani interview, ariel interview, matt riddle, king of bros, wwe, aew, new japan, njpw, matt riddle wwe, matt riddle wwe release, fired, firing, gcw, pro wrestling, matt riddle mma, randy orton, rko, rehab, matt riddle controversy

Id: xoU3LHXqKjg

Length: 68min 25sec (4105 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 28 2024