Baron Corbin has been one of the key features of WWE Friday Night SmackDown, and he has found himself a brand new opponent with Matt Riddle. The two of them have been involved in a pretty fierce feud that seemed like it capped off with their match at WWE Payback, but according to Corbin, this is definitely not over as he prepares for a Fatal-4-Way match against Riddle, Big E, and Sheamus during WWE Friday Night SmackDown. In anticipation of this match and a potential future fighting against Riddle, ComicBook.com had the opportunity to speak with Corbin about his impressions of Matt Riddle and what he has in mind heading into SmackDown and beyond.
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Corbin broke down his first impression of Matt Riddle when he first came to Friday Night SmackDown, “It took me a while to kind of pass judgment on what I really thought of Matt really. He has this carefree, surfer, ’80s, valley boy attitude, but I knew he was a legit competitor. He fought in the UFC and he had some toughness. So I wanted to really measure his worth and see what he was capable of in the ring. And I have that background of being a Golden Gloves boxer and I had jiu-jitsu. So I thought it was going to be a real fun mess of skills to compete in…”
As for how he felt about his match against Riddle at WWE Payback, “…at Payback I tested him and I found out he is more than just a Cali surfer boy or whatever you want to call him if you want to call him Spicoli or Matt Riddle. But it’s exciting. I was proud of that first showing for him as well. It’s fun to see when guys come up to NXT and they step up to the challenge, they step up to the plate and they hit a home run, because the more top level competitors we have, the better we are as a company. So it’s important to have those guys step up and I want to test that and I’m not done testing him.”
As for testing him further, Corbin turned his attention to his Fatal-4-Way for a shot at being the number one contender for the WWE Universal Championship, “I want to make sure that it is not a one lucky shot or a one trick pony. So we’re going to see what he’s made of, I think tonight at SmackDown we have that Fatal-4-Way for a number one contender’s match. It’s going to be another good chance for him to see what he’s made of. And I look forward to pushing him to his limits.”
That Fatal-4-Way also involves member of the New Day, Big E, who is pushing out on his own as a singles competitor. Corbin revealed how he felt about Big E’s run so far, “I think it’s long overdue. I think he needs his shot. He came up as a singles competitor and did very well. He was a bodyguard for a little bit, but I believe he was Intercontinental Champion, so he knows what it takes to be a single competitor. But he’d been in that tag team life for a long time and that’s a different world. You have guys you can lean on, and guys that can help pick you up when you get knocked down and I think being out on your own is very difficult and it’s a big mental game because there are ups, there are downs. It’s frustrating.”
But in terms of that immediate challenge, Corbin is ready for Big E too, “I think that he’s going to be very successful. He won’t be tonight, in my opinion, because if I have to put him down, I will. But I think he will find success in being a singles competitor. He is an incredible athlete with size and tenacity and a personality that is just unmatched. And so I think it’s going to be special and I look forward to seeing what he does with this shot and hopefully he capitalizes.”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more of our interview with Baron Corbin, and be sure to see him in action during WWE Friday Night SmackDown! Let us know how you felt about Corbin and Riddle’s feud so far in the comments!
