Matt Riddle: A major player in the new era of pro wrestling

(MMAnews.com)

This weekend, I was checking out a bit of Evolve’s recent shows and I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. The amazingly talented athlete, Matt Riddle, has been right under my nose and I’m just figuring this out. I’ve been missing out on some great stuff.

Matt Riddle is a pro wrestler and mixed martial artist. In college, Matt was apart of the East Stroudsburg University wrestling team for two years. After losing his scholarship, he dived into the world of MMA and trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He won a spot on the UFC reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season 7. On the season finale, Riddle made his UFC debut against Dante Rivera. After his time in UFC, Riddle had a brief stint in Bellator. In 2014 Riddle began training for a pro wrestling career at the Monster Factory in New Jersey.

It wasn’t long before Matt started to see some success in this business. In July 2015, Riddle became the Monster Factory Heavyweight Champion. Shortly after that accomplishment, it was announced that he was signed with WWNLive, to work EVOLVE wrestling events.

Since working under Evolve, there have been rumors that Matt will be signed to NXT pretty soon. Riddle has already confirmed that he has had a tryout with WWE and it has been hinted at even in EVOLVE storylines, with the appearance of NXT talent scout, William Regal at the few of their recent events. People are speculating that he will jump to NXT in April,since he is not booked for any EVOLVE events after Wrestlemania.

The reason why I believe that Matt Riddle is the future of pro wrestling is because he is showcasing what modern pro wrestling or wrestlers of this era are now. With the popularity of mixed martial arts and the more athletic wrestlers coming on to the scene, you would notice a mat based,submission, style creeping in.

With the argument that kayfabe is dead, more legitimate looking wrestling is being brought to the forefront. This allows the fans to believe in the ability of the wrestlers. That these competitors can truly take it to their opponents and critics know because of their amateur or MMA background that when they are applying certain holds they are truly executing it.

Matt is no exception to this. With his long legs and cat like reflexes, he could easily take you down and make you tap. His mat work is supreme and his take downs and suplexes show his strength, that he can hold his own against any big guy in the business.

I would have loved to see him compete in the Global Cruiserweight Series in July, however his size does disqualify him. But his recent matchup with Tracy Williams cheered me up. The chemistry between these two in the ring is through the roof. Both competitors incorporate the grappling style into their matches and it is must see TV.

I’m am looking forward to seeing more from Matt Riddle and maybe in a NXT ring. I can picture it now. Matt Riddle vs Chad Gable. Okay, my mind is going into unknown territory but whether Matt stays in EVOLVE or comes to NXT, I will stayed glued to his progress!