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Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW) and also makes appearances on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE.
As a professional mixed martial artist from 2008 to 2014, Riddle made a name for himself by appearing on SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7 and went on to hold a four-fight winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) before being released upon testing positive for marijuana in February 2013 (that being his second drug test failure). He also fought for Titan FC and compiled a career record of 8–3 (2).
In 2014, Riddle began training at the Monster Factory for a career in professional wrestling and made his debut in February 2015. Readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recognized him as the Rookie of the Year and Most Improved wrestler of the year in 2016. Between 2015 and 2018, he worked on the independent circuit, wrestling for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, World Wrestling Network/Evolve, and others. He is a former Evolve Champion, WWN Championship, PWG World Tag Team Champion (with Jeff Cobb), and two-time Progress Atlas Champion.
Riddle signed with WWE in July 2018 and portrayed a stereotypical carefree, barefoot surfer valley boy. He was assigned to the NXT brand, where he was a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion with Pete Dunne as "The BroserWeights". He was promoted to the main roster in May 2020, where he won the United States Championship in February 2021. In April, Riddle began teaming with Randy Orton as RK-Bro, holding the Raw Tag Team Championship twice. After Orton incurred a back injury in May 2022, which eventually led to RK-Bro's disbandment, Riddle continued his run as a singles competitor until he was released from WWE in September 2023.
Riddle later attended East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania on an athletic scholarship, where he was a member of its wrestling team for two years and won many championships. After his head coach was fired, Riddle lost his wrestling scholarship and began his transition into mixed martial arts.
Riddle then fought Dan Simmler, an understudy of Matt Serra, to get into The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) house. Riddle knocked out Simmler in the opening seconds of the second round and struck him three times in the jaw after losing consciousness, breaking Simmler's jaw into two places.
Riddle's second match was against Tim Credeur. Credeur defeated Riddle in the second round, causing him to be knocked out of the tournament. After the fight, Credeur bought Riddle an Xbox 360 with his earnings.
Riddle was then scheduled to fight Ryan Thomas at UFC 91, but a knee injury forced Riddle out of the fight and got pinned. The knee injury's recovery was scheduled to take about 6–8 weeks.
After his recovery, Riddle fought and defeated Steve Bruno in a unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) at .
In his third bout, Riddle defeated another one of his former Ultimate Fighter 7 castmates, Dan Cramer, via a unanimous decision on the undercard of UFC 101.
He next faced The Ultimate Fighter 9 alumni Nick Osipczak on November 14, 2009, at UFC 105. The fight was held in Osipczak's home country of England. Riddle lost the fight by TKO in the third round.
After his loss to Osipczak, Riddle faced newcomer Greg Soto on March 27, 2010, at UFC 111. After a dominant first two rounds for Riddle, Soto landed an illegal upkick to Riddle's head in the third round which rendered him unable to continue, giving Riddle the victory by disqualification.
Following this victory, Riddle faced another in DaMarques Johnson on August 1, 2010, at UFC on Versus 2. The fight was a catchweight bout after Johnson weighed in at 172 lbs and Riddle would go on to win the fight via TKO due to punches near the end of the second round.
Riddle was expected to face TJ Waldburger on December 11, 2010, at UFC 124. However, Waldburger was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by newcomer Sean Pierson. Pierson defeated Riddle via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) and the bout was dubbed by president Dana White as the real Fight of the Night.
Riddle was expected to face Ultimate Fighter castmate, Matt Brown, on March 3, 2011, at , replacing an injured Mark Scanlon. However, Riddle was also injured, resulting in the Brown fight being removed from the card altogether.
Riddle was expected to face T. J. Grant on June 26, 2011, at UFC on Versus 4. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Charlie Brenneman.
Riddle faced undefeated welterweight prospect Lance Benoist who had made his Octagon debut on September 17, 2011, at . He lost the fight via unanimous decision in a bout that had earned Fight of the Night honors.
Riddle was expected to fight Luis Ramos on December 30, 2011, at UFC 141. However, the fight was called off as Riddle became ill and had to only pull out moments before the fight took place.
Riddle was expected to face Jorge Lopez on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143, replacing an injured Amir Sadollah. However, Lopez was also forced out of the bout and replaced by newcomer Henry Martinez. Riddle won the fight via a split decision.
The bout between Riddle and Ramos was rescheduled for June 22, 2012, at UFC on FX 4. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with another injury, and was replaced by Matt Brown.
Riddle stepped in for Siyar Bahadurzada on short notice to fight Chris Clements at . Riddle won the match after catching Clements in a standing arm-triangle choke, forcing him to submit at 2:02 in the third round. Riddle won a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus. This also marked the first submission win of his professional career. On October 20, 2012, it was announced that Riddle had failed his post-fight drug test, testing positive for marijuana. Riddle was subsequently fined and suspended for 90 days, retroactive to July 21, 2012. His win over Clements was changed to a no contest.
Riddle was originally expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154, replacing an injured Stephen Thompson. However, Yousef was forced out with an injury and replaced by John Maguire. Riddle defeated Maguire via a unanimous decision.
Riddle faced Che Mills on February 16, 2013, at . Riddle defeated Mills via split decision. On February 26, 2013, Riddle revealed that he had tested positive for marijuana. This was his second failed drug test within a year, and Riddle was subsequently released from the promotion. He had finished his UFC career ranked 3rd in UFC history for takedown defense (89.3%) and 8th for the total of strikes that have been landed (1350), and without positive marijuana tests would have held an octagon record of 10–3 with a streak of five consecutive victories.
Riddle was expected to face MMA legend Jose Landi-Jons for the vacant Welterweight Championship at Titan FC 29 on August 22, 2014. However, Landi-Jons was forced out of the bout due to visa issues, and was replaced by UFC veteran Ben Saunders. However, Riddle was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by the man he was originally scheduled to face, Jose Landi-Jons.
On January 15, 2017, Riddle defeated Rampage Brown to win the Progress Atlas Championship. Riddle debuted for Revolution Pro Wrestling on January 21, challenging Katsuyori Shibata for the British Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. On February 11, at CZW 18, Riddle faced David Starr in an inter-promotional champion vs champion match, with Riddle defending Progress Wrestling's Atlas Championship and Starr defending wXw's Shotgun Championship. The match ended in a double disqualification, and neither championship changed hands. On April 1, Riddle defeated five other men in an elimination match to become the inaugural WWN Champion. On October 20, Riddle and Jeff Cobb, known collectively as "The Chosen Bros", defeated the Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix and Penta el Zero M) to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On April 20, 2018, they lost the titles to The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz and Wes Lee).
On April 5, 2018, Riddle was the host of the first edition of Game Changer Wrestling's shoot-style event, GCW Bloodsport, and also wrestled in the main event, losing to Minoru Suzuki. On the same day, Riddle defeated Zack Sabre Jr. at Evolve 102 to win the Evolve Championship. On August 4, Riddle lost the Evolve Championship to Shane Strickland at Evolve 108.
Riddle made his in-ring debut on the October 31 episode of NXT, defeating Ridge Holland. At on November 17, Riddle began a feud with Chris Hero, who interrupted him during an interview on the pre-show. When the show started, Riddle challenged Ohno to an impromptu match and defeated him in 6 seconds, marking the fastest match in NXT history. He then defeated Ohno in a rematch on the January 2 episode of NXT. At on January 26, 2019, Riddle defeated Ohno for a third time after making him submit with a series of elbow strikes to the head, ending their feud. The following month, WWE Network released a documentary on his wrestling career and entry into NXT entitled Arrival: Matt Riddle. At on April 5, Riddle challenged Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Championship in a losing effort, ending his undefeated streak in NXT.
In July, Riddle started a feud with the returning Killian Dain. On the August 7 episode of NXT, Riddle was set to face Dain, but they brawled before the match happened. Three days later, the two brawled at and faced each other on the August 21 episode of NXT, where Dain was victorious, but Riddle attacked Dain after the match. This set up a Street Fight between the two on NXT
On the November 1 episode of SmackDown, Riddle and Keith Lee were one of the many NXT wrestlers to invade the show, confronting and attacking Sami Zayn. Later that night, Riddle joined Triple H and the rest of the NXT roster as they declared war on both Raw and SmackDown, and vowed to win the Survivor Series brand warfare. On the November 13 episode of NXT, Finn Bálor insulted the NXT roster as "all boys who can't take a beating", specifically mentioning Johnny Gargano and Riddle, who attacked Bálor before he retreated. Riddle was originally part of Team Ciampa for , but was taken off the team due to having a match against Bálor at the event on November 23, which he lost. The following night, at Survivor Series, Riddle was part of Team NXT in a losing effort to Team SmackDown also involving Team Raw; during the match, Riddle eliminated Randy Orton with a roll-up pin before being laid out with an RKO, which caused him to be eliminated by Baron Corbin. On January 26, Riddle participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view and entered at #23, but was eliminated by Corbin in 41 seconds.
On May 29, Kurt Angle announced that Riddle would move to the SmackDown brand. On the June 19 episode of SmackDown, Riddle made his main roster debut, interrupting Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles before defeating Styles in a non-title match. Riddle received an opportunity at the title on the July 17 episode of SmackDown, where he lost to Styles. After the match, he was attacked by Corbin. Riddle defeated Corbin at Payback on August 30, but lost in a rematch on the September 25 episode of SmackDown, ending their feud.
As part of the 2020 Draft, Riddle was drafted to the Raw brand. On October 29, his ring name was shortened to Riddle. At Survivor Series on November 22, Riddle was a part of Team Raw in the men's traditional elimination tag team match, pinning Corbin on route to a clean sweep for Team Raw. On the January 4, 2021 episode of Raw, Riddle defeated United States Champion Bobby Lashley in a non-title match, earning a title match the following week in a losing effort. On the January 25 episode of Raw, Riddle defeated The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin) in a gauntlet match to earn another title opportunity against Lashley. At Royal Rumble on January 31, Riddle entered at #16 and helped eliminate Lashley before being eliminated by Seth Rollins. Riddle received his title match the following night on Raw, where he defeated Lashley by disqualification but did not win the championship. At Elimination Chamber on February 21, Riddle defeated Lashley and John Morrison in a triple threat match to win the United States Championship, his first title on the main roster and his first singles title in WWE. He successfully defended the title against Mustafa Ali at the Fastlane pre-show on March 21. At Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on April 11, Riddle lost the title to Sheamus, ending his reign at 49 days.
After a seven-week absence, Orton returned on the August 9 episode of Raw, where he initially discontinued his team with Riddle at the beginning of the show. Later that night, Orton defeated AJ Styles in a match following assistance from Riddle and afterwards pretended to hug him but instead hit him with an RKO as a sign of gratitude. The following week, Orton officially reunited the team after Riddle saved Orton from an attack at the hands of Omos and Styles. At SummerSlam on August 21, RK-Bro defeated Styles and Omos to win their first WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, both individually and as a team. On October 21, at Crown Jewel, RK-Bro defeated Styles and Omos in a rematch to retain the titles. At Day 1 on January 1, 2022, RK-Bro retained their titles against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford).
On the January 10 episode of Raw, RK-Bro lost the titles to Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis), ending their reign at 142 days. On January 29, Riddle participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event before being eliminated by eventual winner Brock Lesnar. Riddle competed in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the namesake event on February 19, but was again eliminated by Lesnar. On the March 7 episode of Raw, RK-Bro won their second Raw Tag Team Championship after defeating Alpha Academy and Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins in a triple threat tag team match. At Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, RK-Bro successfully defended their titles in another triple threat tag team match against Alpha Academy and the Street Profits. Following WrestleMania, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) challenged RK-Bro to an unification match at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, which RK-Bro accepted. The match at the event, however, was changed into a six-man tag team match, where The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and The Usos) defeated RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre. The unification match later took place on the May 20 episode of SmackDown, where RK-Bro lost their titles to The Usos, ending their second reign at 74 days.
On the December 5 episode of Raw, after he and Kevin Owens failed to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship from The Usos, WWE wrote Riddle off television by having Solo Sikoa "injure" him during a brawl in the ring. On December 12, it was reported that the segment was done after Riddle had been suspended for 60 days after failing WWE's wellness policy for a second time. In a 2024 interview with Ariel Helwani, Riddle revealed that he had tested positive for cocaine, which caused his suspension. Riddle returned on the April 3, 2023, episode of Raw, attacking The Miz. He resumed feuding with The Bloodline by joining forces with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, but they lost to The Bloodline in a six-man tag team match at Backlash on May 6.
At Money in the Bank on July 1, Riddle unsuccessfully challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship. Following this, Riddle began teaming with Drew McIntyre, feuding with The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar). Riddle was involved in an incident at John F. Kennedy International Airport on August 21st, 2023 involving Port Authority Police. On the September 4 episode of Raw, Riddle and McIntyre lost to The Viking Raiders in a tornado tag team match, which marked Riddle's final appearance for the company. On September 22, 2023, Riddle announced his departure from WWE on Twitter, and RK-Bro was officially disbanded immediately.
On January 11, 2025 at Kings of Colosseum, Riddle defeated Satoshi Kojima to win the MLW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. On September 13 at Fightland, Riddle lost the title to Mads Krule Krügger, ending his reign at 245 days. On October 4 at Slaughterhouse, Riddle turned heel for the first time in his career after defeating Alex Hammerstone with a low blow and declaring himself as the "Rude Dude".
Riddle is an experienced practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was promoted to black belt in the sport by Daniel Gracie, Rolles Gracie, and David Floridia on January 28, 2022.
Riddle later filed for a restraining order against Cartwright, alleging that she harassed, stalked, and threatened his safety both in person and over the internet. In September 2020, Riddle withdrew his petition for a restraining order. On October 8, 2020, Cartwright filed a lawsuit against Riddle, WWE, and Evolve president Gabe Sapolsky over the incident. In March 2021, the court dismissed WWE and Sapolsky as defendants in the suit, stating that their connection to the allegations could not be proven. Cartwright dropped the lawsuit on July 13, 2021.
|- |Loss |align=center|1–1 | Tim Credeur | Submission (armbar) |rowspan=2| | (air date) |align=center|2 |align=center|4:06 |rowspan=2|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|1–0 | Dan Simmler | KO (punch) | (air date) |align=center|2 |align=center|0:09 |
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