Matt Riddle Reveals What May Have Led To WWE Release
Matt Riddle explains how his salary could have been a factor in WWE choosing to let him go.
When WWE made roster cuts in September 2023, one of the more surprising names that was let go was Matt Riddle. While some behavioral issues came up, he was also somebody who was pushed relatively well for most of his five-year WWE career.
During his WWE career, Matt Riddle was a United States Champion and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion with Randy Orton. That team known as RK-Bro was very popular with the fans and had a lot of merchandise that did well too.
Since departing WWE, Riddle has opened up about his career and recently appeared on the Kurt Angle Show podcast with the WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. When talking about his release, Riddle cited his rocky past with UFC President Dana White, whose company merged with WWE to form TKO Group in September, and also how his pay scale may have played a part in WWE choosing to let the “Bro” go.
“I think that definitely didn’t help things. Me and Dana White don’t have the greatest relationship and I know he’s definitely a big part of that. It definitely played a part. Also, I know that they’re making budget cuts regardless, and I was getting paid quite a pretty penny.”
“I don’t know if it was right before RKO Bro or right after, Laurinaitis pulled me into the office. I thought I was in trouble. I didn’t get my vaccine yet. I went in there and they were like, ‘Hey, we want to give you a raise’, and they gave me a substantial raise. It increased every year and this year, I was gonna get paid a million a year. I was at 750 ($750,000). I mean, last year I cleared my bucket. I did extremely well. I think that was a big contributing factor.”
“I was gonna get paid a million dollars starting next year, but I also think, you know, the merger didn’t help, and then also my behavior didn’t help either. You know, I ruffled some feathers with HR in the last couple months I was there.”
“I asked a couple questions, this, that, plus other things. So I think there’s multiple reasons why they got rid of me, but it is what it is. One door shuts and another one opens and you just learn from your mistakes and stuff.”
Matt Riddle Admits He Would Have Done Some Things Differently
While discussing his time in WWE, Riddle also believes that he would have done some things differently as he looks back on his time with the company.
“There’s a lot of things, you know, that I probably would have done a little differently. I probably wouldn’t have talked a lot of sh*t that I talked. I’ll be honest, like, you know, working on the road, traveling that much, and then bad decisions, and that’s just what happens. That’s life.”
“You have bad people around, you know, unfortunately, when you’re on the road, sometimes it’s out of control. So that’s it, but I have no regrets. You only live once and you learn from your mistakes.”
Since the release, Riddle has competed in matches for MLW and NJPW, including at the NJPW Battle in the Valley event on January 13th in San Jose.