Matt Riddle has explained why he didn’t want to join AEW after being fired from WWE and detailed the one awkward conversation he had with Tony Khan.
Many expected the former WWE star to land a deal with the company’s biggest rivals when he was released. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, however, he explained that he was actually relieved after being fired from the TKO-owned promotion.
Riddle mentioned how he is a very provocative character and being on TV was stressful for him because it magnified everything. The reason he didn’t go into AEW straight away was because he didn’t want to get the attention for a while.
Though the former US Champion didn’t completely rule out the possibility of an AEW appearance in the future. He mentioned how MLW works with NJPW which in turn works with the promotion of Tony Khan.
Matt Riddle’s Strange Encounter With Tony Khan
Matt Riddle explained that it’s possible for him to make an AEW debut that way before revealing an awkward conversation he had with Khan at New Japan’s Windy City Riot show in April:
“I talked to Tony, I don’t know if he likes me. He seemed happy. I wrestled Zach Sabre Jr. in Chicago. He seemed cool about it. I don’t know. When you meet me, I’m very sarcastic. But when I met him, I was like, ‘Oh, you like that match’?
But I said it a different way, and he looked at me all confused. And I was like, ‘Never mind, dude’. I just walked away. So that was my experience with that.”
The former WWE star later also explained why he hasn’t made a TNA appearance so far either. Riddle mentioned that he took a lot of indie bookings following his release.
So when he talked to Tommy Dreamer about potentially working for the Anthem-owned promotion, they couldn’t find dates where he was free to participate in TNA tapings.
Matt Riddle joined WWE back in 2018 and found a lot of success in the company. He was involved in a lot of controversies as well, however. Following one such controversial incident at the JFK airport in September 2023, Riddle was released from his contract.
