Matt Riddle is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist who is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He was a professional MMA fighter from 2008 to 2014 and has appeared on SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter 7. Further, he went on to hold a four-fight winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) before being fired upon testing positive for smoking marijuana in February 2013. He also fought for Titan FC and compiled a career record of 8–3 (2). In 2014, he began training at the Monster Factory for a career in professional wrestling and made his actual debut in February 2015. He worked on the independent circuit (2015-2018), wrestling for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, World Wrestling Network/Evolve, and others. He is a former Evolve Champion, WWN Champion, PWG World Tag Team Champion (with Jeff Cobb), and two-time Progress Atlas Champion.
In 2018, he signed with WWE. He was originally assigned to the NXT brand, where he was a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion with Pete Dunne as ‘The BroserWeights’, having become champions after winning the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. He was later promoted to the main roster, where he won the United States Championship in February 2021. In April, he teamed with Randy Orton as RK-Bro, winning the Raw Tag Team Championship in August 2021 and March 2022. Matt is nicknamed Chipper, Deep Waters by his fans.
What is Matt Riddle Famous For?
- Matt Riddle is a professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist.
- Matt is famous for being with the WWE and for performing with their developmental territory NXT and Raw brand.
- He is a former one-time Evolve champion, one-time WWN Champion, and two-time Progress Atlas Champion.
What is Matt Riddle Full Name?
Matt Riddle was born with the full name of Matthew Fredrick Riddle on January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. He then moved to Saratoga Springs, New York. He holds American nationality and his ethnicity is American-White. Capricorn is his zodiac sign and he follows the Christianity religion. His present age is 36 as of 2022. Riddle has not disclosed the name of his parents and siblings to the public.
Matt attended Saratoga Springs High School and was a New York state wrestling champion in 2004. During his high school career, he pinned future UFC champion, Jon Jones. He then attended East Stroudsburg University, where he was a member of its team for two years and won many championships. After his head coach was fired, he lost his wrestling scholarship and began his transition into MMA.
Matt Riddle Career Timeline
Early Career
- Matt Riddle is 1–0 in amateur MMA. During that time, he worked as a roofer and trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the evenings. He fought Dan Simmler, an understudy of Matt Serra, to get into The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) house. His second match was against Tim Credeur.
UFC
- He made his UFC and professional debut defeating fellow Ultimate Fighter castmate, Dante Rivera, via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27). He next fought and defeated Steve Bruno in a unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens. After that, he defeated Dan Cramer, via a unanimous decision on the undercard of UFC 101.
- He next faced and lost to The Ultimate Fighter 9 alumni Nick Osipczak on November 14, 2009, at UFC 105. He faced newcomer Greg Soto on March 27, 2010, at UFC 111 which he won via disqualification.
- He faced DaMarques Johnson on August 1, 2010, at UFC on Versus 2 which Riddle won via TKO.
- 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.
- He 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.
Bellator MMA
- Riddle signed a multi-fight deal with Texas-based promotion, Legacy Fighting Championships after he was released from IFC. On May 18, 2013, it was announced that Riddle instead joined the Bellator MMA roster after his Legacy contract had been purchased by the promotion.
- Riddle was expected to fight at Bellator 109. Riddle pulled out of that fight and was subsequently released.
Titan FC
- Riddle fought Michael Kuiper in the co-main event of Titan FC 27 on February 28, 2014. Riddle won the fight.
Independent circuit
- Matt Riddle made his professional wrestling debut on February 7, 2015, at the Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey. In July 2015, he won the Monster Factory Heavyweight Championship.
- On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Riddle had signed with the World Wrestling Network (WWN) to work the October Evolve events. He later confirmed that he had taken part in a WWE tryout.
- On September 3, Riddle made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), entering the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. He was eliminated in his first-round match by Kyle O’Reilly. On January 15, 2017, he defeated Rampage Brown to win the Progress Atlas Championship. He debuted for Revolution Pro Wrestling on January 21. On April 1, Riddle defeated five other men to become the inaugural WWN Champion. He won The Scenic City Invitational Tournament on August 5.
- On April 5, 2018, he 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.
WWE
- Culture news website, Uproxx reported on July 31, 2018, that Riddle had signed a contract with WWE. He then appeared at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV on 18th august 2018. He mad his NXT debut on October 31 where he won against Luke Menzies.
- In 2019, WWE Network released a documentary on his wrestling career and entry into NXT entitled “Arrival: Matt Riddle”.
- In March, Riddle would start a feud with the NXT North American Champion, Velveteen Dream. Riddle challenged Velveteen Dream on April 5 for the NXT North American Championship, but was unsuccessful, ending his undefeated streak in NXT.
- Riddle started a feud with the returning Killian Dain. The two brawled at NXT TakeOver: Toronto and eventually faced each other on the August 21 episode of NXT, where Dain was victorious, but Riddle attacked Dain after the match.
- On the night of November 1, 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. Riddle would start feuding with Finn Bálor in the same month.
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- He also participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view and entered at #23 but was eliminated by Corbin in 41 seconds.
- Riddle and Pete Dunne would later take on the name of The BroserWeights, a portmanteau of Riddle’s “Original Bro” nickname and Dunne’s “Bruiserweight” nickname. Together, they defeated Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel of Imperium in the semifinals on January 22, and Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) in the finals on January 29 to win the tournament and earn a match against Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly of The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Portland. Riddle and Dunne defeated Fish and O’Reilly on 16 February to win the titles, marking Riddle’s first title win in WWE.
- Riddle picked Timothy Thatcher as his replacement for Riddle’s partner. They would lose the titles against Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) on the May 13 episode of NXT after Thatcher walked out on him.
- On May 29, 2020, Kurt Angle announced that Riddle would move to the SmackDown brand. On the June 19 episode of SmackDown, he made his main roster debut, where he interrupted Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles before defeating Styles in a non-title match. After that, he was attacked by King Corbin. He lost to Corbin on the September 25 episode of SmackDown, ending their feud.
- Riddle was then drafted to the Raw brand. On October 29, his ring name was shortened to Riddle for unknown reasons. In December, he would begin a feud with United States Champion Bobby Lashley. Riddle defeated Lashley on January 4, 2021. On the January 25 episode, Riddle defeated The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin).
- On February 21 at Elimination Chamber, he 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. Riddle then lost the title to Sheamus on Night 2 of WrestleMania 37, ending his reign at 49 days.
- Randy Orton and Matt Riddle formed the tag team “RK-Bro”.
- While performing on Raw, he returned to NXT on the December 7 episode, revealing himself as the Shaman for MSK.
- Riddle next competed in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the namesake event, where he was eliminated by Brock Lesnar.
- In the unification match between RK-Bro and The Usos, RK-Bro lost their titles to The Usos, ending their second reign at 74 days.
- Riddle then continued to feud with The Bloodline teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura. He next began feuding with Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Riddle and Rollins finally faced off at Clash at the Castle on September 3, where Riddle was defeated.
- At the event on October 8, he defeated Rollins via submission. On the October 17 episode of Raw, he failed to win the United States Championship from Rollins ending their feud.
- On December 13, it was reported that Riddle had been suspended for 60 days after failing WWE’s wellness policy. WWE reportedly sent him to rehab, supposedly stating that if he refused he would be fired.
Matt Riddle Awards and Achievements
Mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Fight of the Night (1 time) vs. Lance Benoist
Submission of the Night (1 time) vs. Chris Clements
Professional wrestling
5 Star Wrestling
5 Star Tap or Snap Championship (1 time)
Beyond Wrestling
Tournament for Today Men (2016)
Evolve
Evolve Championship (1 time)
Style Battle (2016)
Hope Wrestling
Hope 24/7 Hardcore Championship (1 time)
IWA Mid-South
Revolution Strong Style Tournament (2018)
Keystone Pro Wrestling
KPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Punisher Martinez
Monster Factory Pro Wrestling
Monster Factory Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 46 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
Progress Wrestling
Progress Atlas Championship (2 times)
Pro Wrestling Chaos
King of Chaos Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
PWG World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jeff Cobb
Scenic City Invitational
Scenic City Invitational Tournament (2017)
Sports Illustrated
Ranked No. 5 of the top 10 men’s wrestlers in 2018
Ranked No. 8 of the top 10 wrestlers in 2017
Style Battle
Style Battle (8, 9)
Westside Xtreme Wrestling
AMBITION 8 (2017)
WWNLive
WWN Championship (1 time)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Most Improved (2016)
Rookie of the Year (2016)
WWE
WWE United States Championship (1 time)
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Randy Orton
NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Pete Dunne
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2020) – with Pete Dunne
How much is Matt Riddle’s Net Worth?
Matt Riddle is a professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As of 2023, Riddle’s net worth is estimated to be $3 million as per sources. He earns a six-figure salary of $4,00,000 from his professional career. During his MMA career, he earned a salary of $2,50,000 to $3,00,000. After failing two drug tests, he earned a salary between $1,50,000 to $1,80,000 by fighting in smaller promotions. He also earns through his appearance in pay-per-views and the sale of merchandise. His main source of wealth comes from his wrestling career. He is satisfied with his earnings and he lives a lavish lifestyle right now.
Who is Matt Riddle’s Wife?
Matt Riddle was a married man and he is single right now. Previously, he tied the knot to his beautiful wife, Lisa Rennie in 2011. The duo has fraternal twin daughters and a son namely Allison Riddle, Zachary Riddle, and Amy Riddle. Sadly, the couple ended their married life via divorce in March 2022. He is enjoying his single life a lot after his split with Lisa. His sexual orientation is straight.
Sexual assault allegation
Riddle was accused of sexually assaulting female independent wrestler Candy Cartwright in 2020. Cartwright alleges that after an independent show in May 2018, Riddle asked Cartwright to have sex with him, and when Cartwright turned down Riddle’s request, she claims that Riddle choked her and forced her to give him oral sex. Riddle stated that he had an affair with Cartwright, but sexual relations between the two were completely consensual.
Riddle then 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 8th October 2020, Cartwright filed a lawsuit against Riddle, WWE, and Evolve president Gabe Sapolsky over the incident. Cartwright later dropped the lawsuit on July 13, 2021.
How tall is Matt Riddle?
Matt Riddle is a professional wrestler whose body type is athletic. He stands tall at the height of 6 ft 1 in or 1.85 m. His body type is 77 Kg or 170 lb or 12 st 2 lb. His hair color is light brown and he has a pair of blue eyes. He has plum lips with a V-shaped jawline. His highest reach is 76 in (190 cm).
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