WWE signed Matt Riddle to stop him from being a top guy in rival company, reactions to him smoking weed - Reports
Matt Riddle was recently released from his WWE contract, and details of why the company brought him in the first place have now emerged.
As noted by Dave Meltzer in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, whenever WWE considered doing business with Riddle, they were reminded of how every Google search about the superstar would bring up a marijuana-related story.
When the Vince McMahon-led company was looking at using talents from Evolve for WrestleMania weekend years ago, they reportedly specified that they'd book anyone but Riddle. It's more surprising when you recall Matt Riddle was Evolve's top name at the time.
As time passed, how people viewed marijuana changed, and so did NJPW's stance about getting Riddle on a contract. The belief within WWE was that the Japanese organization would turn the former UFC star into its number two foreign talent.
World Wrestling Entertainment, however, wasn't going to let that happen, as they finally secured his services on a full-time deal in 2018 and introduced him in Triple H's NXT. The company, though, might have been three years late, as it was added below in the newsletter report:
"Things changed based on the stigma of marijuana changing. New Japan made the call to bring him in, and when WWE found out, they signed him in 2018 largely because of the feeling he could have become New Japan's No. 2 foreign star at the time. He would have been signed easily by WWE by 2015, " revealed Meltzer.
Multiple top companies avoided Matt Riddle for years
Matt Riddle entered the professional wrestling world in 2014 after training and competing as a Mixed Martial Artist for most of his life. The 37-year-old was ousted from the UFC due to his usage of marijuana, and this was during the time when the perception of the drug was different in MMA.
While the rules have been relaxed ever since, the same didn't apply to the Japanese pro wrestling scene.
Matt Riddle has always been of interest to New Japan Pro Wrestling, as rumors state that the promotion wanted to have his team up with Jeff Cobb. For a very long time, both NJPW and WWE stayed away from Riddle due to the stigma about smoking weed.
"Since he left MMA, the perception of marijuana within MMA and the commissions has become far more lenient. That is not the case in Japan, where marijuana has a far more negative stigma. Riddle & Jeff Cobb were originally going to be put together as a tag team in New Japan, but the marijuana reputation caused New Japan to cool down interest. It also caused WWE to avoid signing him for years".
What's next for Riddle after his WWE release? Sound off in the comments section below.