Matt Riddle Accused of Sexual Assault, WWE Issues Statement
After accusations of sexual assault were levied toward WWE NXT performer Matt Riddle (WWE), WWE [...]
After accusations of sexual assault were levied toward WWE NXT performer Matt Riddle (WWE), WWE has since issued a statement and announced that the company is currently investigating the statement made by WWN performer Candy Cartwright. The wrestler detailed an experience in which she claims Riddle forced her to perform sexual acts in 2018, posting about the event on social media. WWE has since responded, issuing a statement to CBS Sports that reads: "We take any allegation of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter." Riddle has since been removed from the preview section for WWE SmackDown on WWE.com, though the performers debut has been hyped up for the last few weeks.
Cartwright's story and followup indicate that Riddle's wife Lisa was also aware of their relationship. As a warning, the content in her post is uncensored here:
"Back in May of 2018 I was riding with Matt Riddle and a few other wrestlers. During the van ride, when the 3 other wrestlers had fallen asleep, Matt asked me to 'hop on his dick.' When I refused (although we had previously been together I was incredibly uncomfortable in that setting ) When I said no, he grabbed me by my throat, choked me and said "what if I just made you?" I ended up giving him oral sex (praying someone wouldn't wake up) to get out of having intercourse with him. It was incredibly humiliating. It is never ok to put your hands on a woman, it's also not ok to not listen when she says no."
Reposting these.
— Candy Cartwright (@CandyCartwright) June 19, 2020
1. This is a message from matt to me telling me he can’t wait to see me from just about a year ago, if I’ve been harrassing him for years, I’m not really sure how that’s possible.
2. This is a screenshot from Lisa riddle to me proving she knew of the affair pic.twitter.com/CMYPNpeIYO
WWE has not made it clear if Riddle will still debut on tonight's episode of SmackDown or if there will be any other actions. We will provide an update when the company announces if action will be taken, as well as if Riddle issues a statement in response to Cartwright's accusation.
To learn more about what you can do to prevent sexual violence, please consider donating to RAINN or visit RAINN's website for a number of resources. If you or a loved one has suffered because of sexual violence, contact RAINN's National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline.