Matt Riddle Reveals Why He Won’t Join AEW (Yet)

Matt Riddle is a free agent. The King of Bros was released by WWE this past September at a time where the company was executing talent layoffs following its merger with UFC. Riddle’s situation was not helped by an incident at an airport, as many interpreted the timing of his release coming so soon after his latest controversy as being his last straw. With his 90-day no-compete clause now expired, Riddle is free to take his talents to any wrestling promotion in the world. The former WWE United States Champion has wasted no time in doing so, as Riddle has already popped up on New Japan Pro Wrestling and wrestled a match for Major League Wrestling.

Will Matt Riddle Join AEW?

The King of Bros is in no rush to return to television.

Speaking to Signed By Superstars, Matt Riddle noted that while he believes many of his peers that received pink slips are keen on joining AEW, he is being more selective with his future. 

“Yeah, honestly, I feel like a lot of the talent when I got released, were going to try to do that,” Riddle said. “I wanted to think outside the box and maybe not rush right back into doing TV matches.”

Riddle explained that televised wrestling comes with restrictions that are absent in other mediums.

“TV is a lot different than wrestling on pay-per-view or the indies. There are commercials. They cut times. They change things,” Riddle continued. “For me, right now, New Japan, MLW, the indies, I can display my art and I’m not under such a crunch of time or requirement. I have a lot more freedom.”

Riddle’s first two matches since being released by WWE both aired on pay-per-view, a broadcast that is free from commercial interruptions and is relatively relaxed when it comes to time cues. While AEW does bring in a number of stars for one-off matches, those cameo appearances usually come on AEW Dynamite or AEW Collision. 

It’s more rare that AEW showcases an unsigned talent on one of its pay-per-views, which is the opposite philosophy for Impact Wrestling. The recently rebranded TNA has brought in international superstars like Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada for freelance pay-per-view bouts.

“TNA isn’t out of the picture either,” Riddle noted. “There are certain things I wanted to do. I really wanted to work in Japan and I made that a priority.”