Matt Riddle explains all.
Before WWE Super ShowDown, Matt Riddle made headlines when he revealed that Goldberg had blocked him on social media. Riddle had been critical of Goldberg's wrestling leading up to the event, and that didn't stop on the day of the show as Riddle posted a now-deleted video calling Goldberg "the worst wrestler in the business."
Speaking to TalkSPORT, Riddle clarified his comments regarding Goldberg.
"The thing for me is, and one of the reasons I was never a fan of Goldberg in the beginning when everybody was like ‘oh, he’s so good!’ I was like ‘no, he’s terrible, he’s hurting people’ and there’s nothing else. He just has three-minute matches," says Riddle. "And that was my thing and when people say ‘who was your favourite wrestler?’ I really don’t have one. I just liked really good wrestling. That’s why I fight and I do that. So for me, I don’t care how much money he makes, I’m just glad people were entertained. But, stick to your wheelhouse, bro. And stop headbutting doors before you wrestle. And I’m not hating – I’m not hating – I’m just spitting facts and these are all facts and things he should take into consideration. And not just for me, not because he got made fun of, but for his health as well."
Another legend who has been the target of Riddle's verbal warfare has been former WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. But while Riddle would like to retire Lesnar at WrestleMania, he admits that he respects The Beast.
"I have a huge amount of respect for Lesnar [as opposed to Goldberg]. You know, he’s done everything since he came into it. He works hard. You don’t look like Lesnar without working hard," he said. "You don’t pick up things, get to the top of multiple industries and sports without working hard. Do I like his work, per se, and his attitude right now? No. But, I think that’s why it’s good [between them]. He’s the complete opposite of me, but we’re the same."
Riddle often takes matters into his own hands on social media with his calling out of Goldberg and Lesnar. While he eventually deleted the tweet aimed at Goldberg following Super ShowDown, he explained that WWE understands his personality and social media presence.
"Just like with the Goldberg stuff – I’m me. I let them know before I signed, because I had opportunities to go work other places and we were discussing and my thing was, I didn’t want to let them down," he said. "I’m going to tell you who I am, I’m very honest and even with [Matt] Bloom, we’ve gotten into it where I’m like ‘hey man, I think you’re disrespecting me’ and he’s like ‘what!’ and we get into it but then we’re better afterwards because I don’t hold anything back. I’m very honest. I’ll talk, and I’ll talk some sh*t, I’ll say some stuff. But, at the same time, it’s usually true, I back it up and I think they [WWE] respect that. I think if I was a bad worker and then I did everything that I do, they’d be like ‘hate this guy’. But, all the talents like Triple H and Shawn Michaels, they know I’m legit as hell and they love it. Same thing with [William] Regal and [Robbie] Brookside or anybody else, they all know."
Despite Riddle wanting to retire Lesnar at WrestleMania, he remains on the NXT brand. He picked up the most significant victory of his NXT career at NXT TakeOver: XXV when he defeated Roderick Strong.
