Matt Riddle On Randy Orton Initially Not Liking Him, Possible RKBro Reunion In WWE
Former WWE star Matt Riddle has discussed why his former tag team partner Randy Orton didn't like him at first, as well as possibly reuniting RKBro in the future.
On his appearance on "Signed By Superstars," Riddle touched upon a backstage faux pas he committed when he appeared during a live promo of Asuka's backstage. He thought he was in trouble following that incident, but Randy Orton — with whom he didn't have a great relationship up until that point — felt that Riddle's unscripted interruption of the Japanese star's promo was good.
"Me and Randy, before this, me and Randy didn't really talk. I guess Randy didn't like me when I first started working there just because I am who I am. But then Randy comes up to me and he goes, 'I don't know if that was planned, but that's your best promo yet, kid,' and walks away. I felt actually better. I was like, 'Oh, I mean, Randy thought it was cool [so it's okay].'"
Riddle added that he found it easy to get comfortable with his peers backstage in WWE, even though many didn't like him, including Orton.
"I was very comfortable but I noticed with some of the older guys or people that have been there longer, like certain things rub them the wrong way. I think Randy didn't like me ... first time we met, I didn't want to bother him and he's going up to everybody [and shaking their hands] I had my headphones on, I was chilling and I didn't go up and say hi to him. And I remember Randy going, 'I'm going to figure out a way to get this guy fired.' And I was like, 'You said that, dude?' And he's like, 'Yeah, but you're cool now.'"
Riddle on possibly returning to WWE
Later in the interview, Matt Riddle was asked if he would ever like to return to WWE. The former UFC star has opened the door to a return, but feels like that's a decision WWE management should take. But, he's at the moment focused on doing things he wanted to do prior to signing with WWE in 2018.
"Well, that's up to them. I mean it's their, company it's their business, if they want to [I'll return]. Maybe, I'll say right now I probably won't go back this second because there's a lot of things I want to do. There's a lot of things I wanted to do before I got to WWE and I didn't. I feel like if one door closes another opens. The door that's open now allows me to do those things," said Riddle.
He believes that if he were to return to WWE, he would like to conclude his storyline with Randy Orton, which was cut short abruptly due to "The Viper's" injury, while he would also like to end his story with another former tag team partner of his, Pete Dunne.
"If I were to come back I'd really like to finish the story with Randy," said Riddle. "The other thing too even with the Pete Dunne it was unfortunate because COVID happened. I never got to finish the story with The BroserWeights," said the former "WWE Raw" Tag Team Champion.
Since his WWE release, Riddle has appeared in MLW and NJPW and is set to face Hiroshi Tanahashi in the Japanese promotion.