WWE NXT: ARRIVAL Highlights the Humility of Matt Riddle

ARRIVAL Ep.2: Detour to the MONSTER FACTORY

We kick things off at the Riddle Household, as Matt’s family is getting ready to watch his debut from the crowd at TakeOver Brooklyn IV.

“That’s my daddy,” can be heard as one of Matt’s daughters screams at the sight of her father on the television. This is followed by another hilarious comment, “why is he wearing a suit?”

Riddle has arrived and his family couldn’t be happier.

I think everyone assumed that Riddle would get a favorable ovation when he was introduced for the first time in front of a WWE audience, but Matt himself wasn’t as confident. The man who oozes confidence actually expected to hear crickets when he debuted and played that scenario over and over in his head. It now makes sense that the look of shock and surprise took over his face as the crowd went berserk for the newest signee.

Before the Riddles began their move to Orlando, the family made a stop at the place that helped shape Matt into the wrestler he is today. The World Famous Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey brought in Riddle as someone who was a really good fighter, but wasn’t very good in professional wrestling.

Danny Cage and former ECW and WWE Superstar Brian Heffron, known as the Blue Meanie, gave Riddle a ton of praise and did not seem to be surprised at the success that the young talent has already obtained. Heffron would even go on to compare to Riddle to a legend in the business before making an exciting claim about where he thinks Riddle will end up.

"“Matt reminds me a lot of what I saw in Kurt Angle…I think he’s gonna take over the world”"

With all of this praise at the feet of Riddle throughout this episode, the moments with his kids really carry the majority of it. The little things like witnessing the facial expressions on Matt’s face and his kids’ faces as they wrestle together in the ring are not ones of shock and surprise like at Matt’s debut, but rather ones of genuine happiness.