UFC Legend Stephan Bonnar Rips Matt Riddle For Pulling Out Of Their Match
Runner-up of the original season of Ultimate Fighter and current indie pro wrestling star, Stephan Bonnar, joined Wrestling Inc.'s own Nick Hausman for the latest edition of the WINCLY Podcast.
During the interview, Stephan didn't mince words when talking about current WWE NXT star, Matt Riddle. According to Bonnar, Riddle once pulled out of a match that was scheduled against him because Matt apparently couldn't handle the loss to his blossoming wrestling career.
"Riddle b—hed out the day of [the match] just like in the UFC – nothing's changed. He ducked on out, he pulled out the day of. He got a case of 'pussitis'. He hadn't quite gotten over in pro wrestling, he was right at his critical point and he knew a match with me could have buried him," Bonnar explained. "He didn't want to take that risk – too much was at stake, so the day of the event, Riddle pulled out. That's what happened, bottom line he had too much too lose. I cut promos on him for that and you know what I got back? Nothing, zero. I got a guy that pulled out the day of. What's that tell you?
"The guy pulls out the day of and he won't respond to your promos. Alright, I'll let everyone else that's listening to this show make their decision on what that means," Bonnar went on. "Those are the facts. I'm just looking at the facts and you just brought up 'fear' – yeah, I think you're on to something, my friend. Don't worry, I won't tell him you said this. Well, I'm the 205-er, the 'American Psycho', no one has ever so much as even wobbled me. So yeah, he bowed to me in the UFC. Why would anything change in pro wrestling?"
Stephan noted how he enjoys the variety of different wrestling styles that have emerged over time, including more acrobatic, high-flying wrestling, and violent, hardcore wrestling. He feels like his shoot-style of combat sufficiently showcases who he is as a wrestler and doesn't feel the need to venture out into these other styles of wrestling.
"Some of them are but some of them aren't – some are going that other style of pro wrestling, which is the acrobatic route. And some are going kind of that shoot route, and you've got two different schools of pro wrestling developing. Like all these different styles, different shows have styles," Bonnar said. "I'm new to this so I'm learning more and more but you're learning what kind of show and what kind of wrestling you can expect from which show. I'm a fan of it all, and I'll sit in awe and watch these guys doing these amazing things that I can't do ever in a million years. I'm never going to try. And that's the beauty of it – I don't have to.
"And likewise, on the other end of that coin – or I don't know if it's a coin or whatever you call it, but you have the guys mutilating themselves, and falling off of ladders through tables, and the lightbulb thing with shards of glass going in them, and I'll watch that in awe and amazement as well," Bonnar explained. "But there's no way I'll be doing it. F–k no, I bleed naturally. It happens enough, man. My face is all scar tissue; you don't have to gimmick me up to bleed. Like, if it happens it happens, and it happens plenty. I just did a match with Moose for Impact where he f–king suplexed him, his head came up, and smacked me in the corner of the eye which is all scar tissues and magic happened."
Bonnar is scheduled to be a part of Paradigm Pro Wrestling's Fighting Spirit Heavyweight Grand Prix show this Friday, and he mentioned how excited he is to inflict violence on any "slab of meat" he can get his hands on. He took some time to mention his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter and how that legacy has stayed with him throughout the independent circuit.
"Paradigm Pro Wrestling wants to make things my way – Stephan Bonnar 'The American Psycho'. And that means shoot style really, to make it in terms that you'd understand... What am I looking for [in an opponent]? Just a slab of meat that I can inflict violence on really," Bonnar said. "And he does it to me too, you know? He can do it to me too, I don't care. He can dish it, I can take it. Let's make pro wrestling violent again. The riots at these types of shows is because in 2005, two guys had a little show called The Ultimate Fighter. I had a fight that put a sport over and that sport bled on pro wrestling, and that's what you're getting."
Bonnar will compete under UWFi rules as part of Paradigm Pro Wrestling's "Fighting Spirit Heavyweight Grand Prix" in Jeffersonville, IN, on Friday, November 15th. For tickets and more information please click here. Bonnar's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of today's episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In the full interview Bonnar discusses his upcoming match at Paradigm Pro Wrestling's "Fighting Spirit Heavyweight Grand Prix", why he won't be signing ANY exclusive contracts, his recent match with Moose for Impact Wrestling, taking the opposite path as CM Punk and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.