Though her in-ring future is uncertain, Riley Shepard has a clear vision of what she’d like achieve next.
Riley Shepard last wrestled in July 2022. Since then, “The Gladiator of The Geeks” has unfortunately faced some health concerns, namely Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis and a recently re-torn ACL. Despite the setbacks, Shepard is focused on utilizing the additional time off to recenter herself both mentally and physically. From there, Shepard may or may not embrace an in-ring return.
During a recent interview with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay, Shepard was asked about her next goals in professional wrestling in a scenario where health was not a concern.
“Ring of Honor has always been the goal for me,” Shepard said. “I think that’s partly because I came up through Monster Factory and now the Worldwide Dojo. They all have such big ties to Ring of Honor, so I’ve been around that. I got to debut for Ring of Honor within my first year, so for me, it was just kind of one of those full circles. I wanted that so badly. That is something that will always be a goal for me.
“Whether it’s attainable, we’ll see. Whether the goal really just is to step back in the ring one more time, or for one more year, that may be it. But in a perfect world, it would be Ring of Honor, it would be Japan, it would be TNA. Those are those are really the biggest goals that I have always wanted, for sure.”
“The Gladiator of The Geeks” Riley Shepard Wants “The Submission Sniper” Jordan Blade
In addition to competing for Ring of Honor and TNA Wrestling, Shepard is also keen on finally facing her best friend in a singles match — that being “The Submission Sniper” Jordan Blade. Shepard and Blade previously met in tag team action in February 2022. As of now, though, they have yet to meet one-on-one.
“I still can’t believe this hasn’t happened. My best friend in and out of the ring is Jordan Blade. I love her to death. She literally is my best friend in the world. Weirdly, we have never had a singles battle ever,” Shepard said.
“We’ve had a tag team battle, which I’m so grateful to having that because then I got to wrestle with my tag team partner, Kennedi [Copeland], and it just became a thing. Luckily, we got to be awkward together. So I love that we got that match, but I’ve never, ever had a singles match with Jordan Blade. She is definitely on there. I know she’s just waiting for that time. She’s like right there and I can’t wait to see it and celebrate that with her when that happens.”
