WWE: 5 Independent Wrestling Stars They Should Target
By Tim Sherry
5. Matt Riddle
Now this one may be a bit premature but former UFC fighter Matt Riddle, just a two-year pro wrestler, has already made massive strides on the indie scene. Since his debut in February of 2015, Riddle has already defeated current WWE stars Drew Gulak, Kassius Ohno, Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander, Roderick Strong, Tommaso Ciampa, and TJ Perkins. So yes, he can hang with the big boys. He’s snatched up championships in 4 different independent promotions, wrestling for 27 of them already (cagematch.net). He’s clearly trending upward and although still pretty green, he may be ripe for the pickings.
To add to Riddle’s mystique, he’s a legitimate tough guy. After college where he was a scholarship wrestler, Matt entered the world of MMA and competed on season 10 of the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show. He then entered the UFC and had 12 fights and a record of 7-3-2, the 2 no contests, however, were initially wins for Riddle but were overturned after he failed 2 drug tests for marijuana. That’s possibly the only thing the 30-year-old has going against him.
Riddle’s ring acumen is already extremely impressive. He combines hard-hitting strikes with submission psychology so deep you’d think he’d been pro wrestling all his life. But what may eventually set him apart from the pack is his mouth. He’s a smooth, confident talker and knows exactly how to represent himself and for a guy which such little experience, it’s quite clear that he’s a natural. He already has his sights on bigger things as he recently made some comments about Triple H which was reported by Daily DDT in February. If Triple H was listening, he should take a long look at the “Bro” and snatch up a guy who’s best stuff is still to come.