Matt Riddle is currently a free agent after his WWE release in September.
He has worked for NJPW, MLW, and various independent promotions since leaving WWE.
Speaking to Steven Muelhausen of SI's The Takedown, Riddle was asked about the possibility of joining AEW and his meeting with Tony Khan.
"With AEW, I think AEW is a fantastic product," Riddle admits. "I know a lot of the people that work there. I like the company. I like the way they work. I like the people that work there. I think with me, and it's one of the things I've noticed, I’ve been relieved after getting fired from WWE. I felt that because I was on TV, and I'm such a provocative character at times, everything was magnified so much because I was on TV. The stress of working on TV two to three days a week was a lot. I like pressure. I like stress too, but it was a lot. The best answer would be to go to AEW, get more money, and work a decent schedule. I didn't want to work on TV again. I didn't want the attention for a while. I wanted to step away. I just wanted to do Indies.
"I know MLW works with New Japan. New Japan works a lot with AEW. Maybe you'll see me on an AEW channel or broadcast sooner rather than later. Maybe you won't," he said. "I talked to Tony (Khan). I don't know if he likes me. He seemed happy. I wrestled Zach Sabre Jr. in Chicago. He seemed cool about it. I don't know. When you meet me, I'm very sarcastic. But when I met him, I was like, ‘Oh, you like that match’? But I said it a different way, and he looked at me all confused. And I was like, ‘Never mind, dude’. I just walked away. So that was my experience with that."
Riddle is set to face Tom Lawlor in a No-holds-barred Vale Tudo Match at MLW Fightland tapings on September 14.
Elsewhere during the interview, Riddle commented on a possible WWE return. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
