Matt Riddle made his TNA debut at TNA Turning Point, filling in for Trey Miguel in a six-man tag team match after Miguel couldn't make it due to a car accident.
TNA Turning Point took place as part of WrestleCade weekend, and Riddle was in town for the convention.
Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri of SHAK Wrestling, Riddle explained how the appearance came together.
"There was no call made. I was at WrestleCade, signing autographs, doing pretty well and making pretty good money, a lot of people lined up to take a picture with the bro. Tommy Dreamer came up and Ariel [Shnerer]. They came up to me and said Trey got into, not a horrible car accident, but not a great car accident, and he probably wasn't going to make it to the show. Because of my past with KUSHIDA in NXT and my past with Zachary Wentz in NXT, I was the shaman, the shaman that took the place of Jeff Hardy, he was the original shaman. He left and I replaced him. They asked if I would be willing to do it. I didn't have to, I'm not under contract with them or anything like that. I saw a company that was kind of in need and I saw one of my friends, Zachary Wentz, was definitely in need, his boy was out. It just made sense. I've teamed up with them and teamed up with Jeff before in the past, and I've never wrestled the Hardy Boys. I've wrestled Jeff by himself. For me, I had never done TNA, wanted to do that. Can't really pass up an opportunity to wrestle the Hardy Boys. If somebody is hurt or in need and something is not going to work right with the show, I'm more than happy to hop in.
"Plus, I got an extra payday, which didn't hurt the weekend. Still waiting on that. They have a three-week thing or two-week thing, I don't know. I kind of like my money up front. They did great. It was a random thing. I don't have any plans with them in the future. They have spoken to me. They speak highly of me and to me. They're very nice to me. I don't think it's impossible, but right now, my home is MLW. Luckily, I work for a company like MLW that wasn't going to crucify me for helping. It wasn't just me doing the show or trying to get cash, it was me trying to help out my friends. I'm glad MLW and all the people there supported me with the decision."
Riddle, KUSHIDA, and Wentz lost to Ace Austin & The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) at TNA Turning Point.
Riddle is set to challenge Satoshi Kojima for the MLW World Title at MLW Kings of Colosseum on January 11.
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