Matt Riddle Signing with WWE May Have Just Been Spoiled by an Independent Promotion

One of the WWE's biggest signings in years may have just been spoiled by an independent wrestling [...]

By Ryan Droste

One of the WWE's biggest signings in years may have just been spoiled by an independent wrestling organization.

Rumors have been running rampant over the last couple of weeks that Matt Riddle will be joining NXT very soon, possibly with a debut by sitting ringside at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV during SummerSlam weekend.

These rumors started to pick up steam as Riddle began having a lower profile on the independent scene in recent months and even pulled out of the always big Battle of Los Angeles tournament put on by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

Now, Combat Zone Wrestling seems to have announced that Riddle is indeed signing with WWE as part of a graphic posted to social media. Riddle is scheduled to wrestle at CZW's event on Saturday in New Jersey, and in promoting the appearance, the company posted a graphic that noted this would be one of Riddle's final independent appearances before signing with WWE.

The company quickly pulled the graphic and posted a second without the WWE line, instead noting it would be "one of his final indy appearances." Riddle has also been offered a contract by New Japan Pro Wrestling but is reportedly heading to WWE NXT instead (more on that in a minute).

Despite CZW pulling the graphic, fans had already taken screenshots of the original graphic with the line about WWE. You can see both below (h/t to Wrestling Inc.).

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(Photo: Twitter)
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(Photo: Twitter)

In this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer mentioned that Riddle was indeed offered full time contracts from both WWE and NJPW. However, Meltzer also noted that Riddle has decided on WWE and will be starting with NXT imminently.

Riddle has been one of the top independent stars in the world for the last couple of years. When he originally crossed over to pro wrestling from MMA, many immediately made the comparisons between he and Kurt Angle as far as how quickly he picked up on excelling at pro wrestling.

One of the major issues that has kept Riddle away from WWE is his open use of marijuana. However, Riddle has said in the past that if he made enough money with WWE, he would quit smoking. He would also easily be able to pay the fine, which is $2,500 per violation.

Riddle is the type of wrestler who many foresee as a main eventer for years to come, so his move to WWE should be one of the biggest stories of the year, not to mention one of WWE's top independent signings in quite some time.

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