Major WWE Superstar Announces His Exit
WWE has released former United States Champion Matt Riddle.
Matt Riddle's time in WWE is over. After a tumultuous run with the sports entertainment giant, Riddle announced his departure on Friday. Riddle is one of several major cuts WWE made to its roster this week, with the MMA athlete-turned-wrestler joining the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Shelton Benjamin, among others, in free agency.
"Just wanted to inform everyone that I'm no longer with WWE," Riddle wrote on social media. "Thank you for the memories and opportunities also thank you to all the fans for the support and love you give me every time I go out to the ring. See you all soon."
Riddle's time in WWE included huge highs but some frustrating lows. He is best known for his tag team with Randy Orton, RK-Bro. The straight-man/funny-man pairing was majorly over with the WWE audience, with the duo winning the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships two times together. After Orton became injured in 2022, Riddle transitioned back into the singles scene, winning the United States Championship. During this time, WWE placed him in high-profile feuds with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
However, reports surfaced in late 2022 that Riddle had violated the company's wellness policy, and WWE had suspended him. He eventually returned to WWE after WrestleMania 39 and seemed somewhat lost in the card, with his only solid feud coming against intercontinental Champion Gunther. He was just randomly paired with other babyface (good guy) characters on WWE Raw, such as Drew McIntyre, with whom he teamed during his final weeks in the company.
Riddle's life outside the ring in the weeks leading up to his release was also concerning. On Sept. 10, the former UFC fighter accused a police officer at John F. Kennedy International Airport of sexually assaulting him. However, he deleted the accusation soon after. A follow-up report from TMZ disputed Riddle's claim while also noting that he was initially "disorderly" when police were called. Both the Port Authority and WWE were said to be investigating the incident. Riddle was not seen on WWE's TV shows since the incident, and he did wrestle at any non-televised WWE events, either.
All these controversies also fall in the shadow of a 2020 sexual assault allegation. At the time, Riddle was fresh off a successful run on WWE's developmental show, NXT. He was a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion after teaming with Pete Dunne (a.k.a. Butch) in a team known as "The BroserWeights." He was moved to WWE Raw in early 2020, but, soon after, independent wrestler Candy Cartwright accused Riddle of sexually assaulting her.
While defending himself from the allegations, he claimed he had a consensual extramarital relationship with Cartwright (real name Samantha Tavel), and any sexual contact between them was consensual. He then accused Cartwright of harassment and brought a restraining order against her, but he soon dropped it. Cartwright sued Riddle over the alleged assault, which was said to have occurred in May 2018 and involved Riddle choking her and forcing her to perform oral sex after she turned down his request to have sex. Cartwright eventually dropped the lawsuit, but the reason for that withdrawal is unclear. (For a detailed recap of the proceedings, we recommend reading PWInsider's report on the lawsuit.) Riddle's wife at the time of the allegations, Lisa Rennie, later divorced him, leading to more messy personal details being released.
In a report after Riddle's release, Fightful's source, described as a "higher-up" claimed he had simply "burned through too many chances" in WWE.
Riddle is now dating Misha Montana, an adult film star. She is currently pregnant with their first child together (Riddle's third).
The full list of talent that WWE released this week includes: Dolph Ziggler, Matt Riddle, Shelton Benjamin, Elias, Mustafa Ali, Aliyah, Rick Boogs, Riddick Moss, Top Dolla of Hit Row, Dana Brooke, Emma, Mace, Mansoor, Shanky, Dabba Kato, Yuliya Leon, Quincy Elliott, Ikeman Jiro, Alexis Gray, Brooklyn Barlow, Bryson Montana, Kevin Ventura-Cortez, Daniel McArthur and Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald.