Matt Riddle Was Inspired To Wrestle By Former WWE And AEW Champion

Matt Riddle spent years competing in an MMA ring for promotions such as UFC and Titan FC. In 2014, however, the in-ring performance of a former world champion inspired him to go down a different path, specifically one that led him to a professional wrestling ring.

While appearing on "Rewind Recap Relive," Riddle noted that he had been a long time fan of pro wrestling. It wasn't until the launch of the WWE Network, though, that he once again reached superfan status, with WWE WrestleMania 30 as a pivotal turning point for him.

"I also saw that year Daniel Bryan beat Triple H and beat Batista. It was [WrestleMania] 30 and that's the first year of the network. No knock to Daniel Bryan, he's an amazing professional wrestler, one of the probably the best, if not one of the best in the world. But I was like if he can do it, and he's using a shoot background, kind of like a jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai background, and he's not the biggest guy in the room. When I was watching wrestling for a lot of it, the biggest guy in the room dominated and still that happens, but now it seemed like this whole new window [opened].

"If you could actually back it up with your background, like Brock Lesnar beating [The Undertaker's] streak, it was a big year, a big WrestleMania," Riddle continued. "An MMA guy breaking The Streak in Brock and then Daniel Bryan being not that big, but beating Batista and Triple H [and Randy Orton] in the same night to become the Undisputed Champion. I think there's an opening for me."

Following the rush of motivation he received from watching Daniel Bryan crowned as the WWE Champion, Riddle reached out to a few friends, who encouraged him to take a chance on professional wrestling himself. From there, Riddle moved from Las Vegas to Pennsylvania to begin his training at the nearby Monster Factory, with Danny Cage and QT Marshall as notable coaches.