Former WWE Star Matt Riddle Makes NJPW Debut, Challenges Current Champion

By Max Everett
Matt Riddle in NJPW NJPW World

Matt Riddle debuted for NJPW in a vignette where he challenged President and NJPW World TV Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi during Friday's New Year Dash event. The video aired after Tanahashi's title defense against Ryusuke Taguchi, with Riddle setting his sights on the "Ace" and promising to see him soon. Tanahashi responded with a promo in Japanese to accept the challenge, which NJPW commentator Chris Charlton translated roughly, "I will have to do some research as I have no idea who that is." 

Matt Riddle was released by WWE in September 2023, reportedly a result of burning too many bridges throughout his time with the company. He was accused of sexual assault during the #SpeakingOut movement, spurring litigation directly involving WWE as a defendant. He was also known for having real-life issues with top talent, and violating the company wellness policy multiple times.

While there was no explicit reasoning for his WWE release, Riddle was also involved in an incident last year at JFK Airport in New York which led to a police investigation. He is still not short of work outside WWE, however, with MLW looking to be his home promotion in the U.S. going forward. He will wrestle his return match for MLW on January 6 against Jacob Fatu. Riddle is also booked to face Rob Van Dam in March. Riddle is not the first of WWE's 2023 releases to make their way to NJPW at the beginning of 2024. Nic Nemeth (formerly Dolph Ziggler) sat ringside for Wrestle Kingdom 18 on Thursday alongside his brother Ryan Nemeth, where he would be later involved in an angle with new IWGP Global Champion David Finlay.

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