"Times have changed" - Riddle responds to The Undertaker's comments on present-day WWE
Riddle is the latest Superstar to weigh in on The Undertaker's recent criticism of the modern WWE product. On The Joe Rogan Podcast, 'Taker controversially labeled present-day WWE "soft." Multiple Superstars have recently hit back at his comments.
Speaking to Vincente Beltran of ViBe & Wrestling, Riddle also had something to say in response to The Undertaker.
"I would say to the Undertaker and everybody else, times have changed. The human race and everyone is evolving and yes we don’t carry knives and guns to work because we have metal detectors to keep us safe so people don’t do that. We have a wellness policy where we are all getting tested regularly so we are safe and in our right state of mind."
Riddle continued, reflecting on his past as a UFC fighter.
"I love my job, I show up to work and… I am a former professional UFC fighter that broke people’s jaws on a steel cage, something that wasn´t around when he was a young man. I bet if it was, he still wouldn’t step up because it takes a different breath, so that’s that. He shouldn’t say certain things about the upcoming roster because we are real savages, not pretend ones, so he should watch out."
Riddle still respects The Undertaker
Although Riddle disagreed with what The Undertaker said of the WWE locker room, he still has a lot of respect for The Deadman. Riddle also discussed the difference between the mindset of wrestling stars now, and how it used to be.
"But I still respect him... I don’t think he wanted to be mean, I just think he thought his time was tougher and I would say this, when he worked times weren’t tougher. They weren’t smart either and they were dumber, they abused certain things, they abused their bodies and they are all paying the price for it. Today’s wrestler's are smarter, who work smarter and if they think they took more bumps, we don’t work the same schedule you were working, and you can’t say we are softer for that. We're more smarter and educated, like the modern day athlete and we are not getting hurt that much. We're training smart, we eat healthier and we do things better because people in the past made so many mistakes that we learnt from them and now we don’t make those same mistakes anymore."
Riddle finished by claiming that the current wrestling generation is the one to do things right.
"So Undertaker says we are soft, I don’t think we are soft, I think we are more intelligent so we don’t get hurt and don’t put ourselves in stupid situations like bringing guns to work. So Undertaker, nothing but respect but at the end of the day, respect and understand evolution regardless... Realize we have evolved, we are better educated, and we don’t do certain things anymore, we do things right."
The full interview with Riddle can be found here.