Former UFC star Matt Riddle recently spoke with Metro and below are some interview highlights:
You’re asked this question a lot, but is the main reason you’re not in WWE right now because you simply don’t fancy it at the moment?
It’s not that I don’t fancy it, WWE is the biggest company in the world for professional wrestling. At the end of the day, that’s where everybody wants to be, but some people get there sooner.
The thing is, once you’re working for them, you’re limited. I use the example of movies a lot. If you make an independent movie, you hire your actors and do everything. It’s lower budget but it’s your product. Your ideas.
When you go to a bigger studio, they’ll give you more money but they’ll say a sponsor has to be in the movie or a certain actor has to be involved. The story you were telling is now an altered one.
Something I love about indies is that I get to tell my story. There might be a different outcome, but before, during and after the match I tell the story my way.
Does that mean you’re not interested in NXT?
I wouldn’t even mind having to go to NXT but it’d have to be that I’m fighting for the title right away. And it makes sense. I’m a former UFC fighter killing it on the indies and I’m a stud.
Even when I cut a promo on William Regal in the ring, I didn’t even tell him I was going to do it. I just told him, why aren’t you hiring me, look at me! Just look at me, you hire these people but you’re not talking to me? You’re crazy.
Any names in particular you don’t think should have been hired?
With wrestling, everybody always asks what they can do to get signed or how can they get over. There’s no right or wrong answers, that’s why I think the best thing you can do is be yourself.
Decide which of your traits and characteristics are going to stand out to people, and take advantage of that. It’s the same with WWE because they have John Cena who is a legitimate Superman and a machine.
And then they have James Ellsworth on the same payroll. So you have James Ellsworth and John Cena. If you look at them side by side and look at everything, one guy shouldn’t be collecting a cheque but he is.
Nothing against Ellsworth, but if you’re looking at picture-perfect that’s what everybody should be like, everybody should be like John Cena. Jacked, a machine, get up at 5am go to bed at 2am, but that’s not how it works.
And the fans can’t all connect with Superman. Some people are James Ellsworth, nothing wrong with that.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
