When I was in the UFC, I would get tickets for a fight, and then what I would do is go in the crowds and watch the rest of the fights. A lot of times, I would end up taking pictures and signing people's books. I didn't care if I got any money or anything. I was just there enjoying my time and watching the fights.

Matt Riddle

My parents told me if I wanted to fight, they wouldn't support me.

I'm about great competition. That's why I can have a great smile beforehand and connect with the crowd, and then, when I get in the ring, I flip that switch.

Matt Riddle

Smile Pet Great

Any match with Keith Lee is definitely circled on my calendar.

Matt Riddle

Wit T Match

I like wrestling the bigger guys, personally, because I can lay into them harder, and they can dish it back out.

Matt Riddle

Wrestling Use Us

I know I'm skilled - I know my background - and the people who are familiar with my credentials know better than to try me.

Matt Riddle

Wit Who UN

I love working with new guys, especially MMA guys.

Matt Riddle

Work Love Working

I am me. I've always been a character, and my character's story lives into pro wrestling.

Matt Riddle

Wrestling Ways Way

In pro wrestling, if somebody throws a move, it's my job not to get hurt but also to sell the move and make it look like I'm dying.

Matt Riddle

Yin Wrestling Throws

Even when you're on top in the UFC, you only get paid a couple times a year.

Matt Riddle

Time You Year

I'm just tired of the unethical people, the scumbags, all that. Maybe that's how all businesses are run, but in MMA, I've been in the UFC, Legacy, and Bellator. The UFC was the best, and even they didn't treat you that well.

Matt Riddle

Business You Well

Take into consideration I get to play-fight in my underwear every week, and I get paid very well to do it.

Matt Riddle

Well Week Wear

MMA is like the Colosseum in Rome: the fans want to see violence.

Matt Riddle

Want Violence T

I'm a shark, and I swam in a lot of different ponds, but I'm ready for the ocean.

Matt Riddle

T Shark Rent

When I started doing pro wrestling, it wasn't the physical aspect doing the moves or taking the moves that was hard: it was interacting with the crowd, body movement, selling, getting that emotional attachment with people so they're invested in a match. That was the hard part.

Matt Riddle

Men Art Wrestling

My goal is to make wrestling more like mixed martial arts.

Matt Riddle

Art Wrestling T

If I do make WWE - because in my head, until it's official, it's not a thing - I think if they brought me in, it would be very short lived at NXT, and I'd be on main roster extremely quick.

Matt Riddle

WWE Would Very

In sports entertainment, you can be larger than life.

Matt Riddle

Sports Men Life

I'll be honest, when I first started pro wrestling, everybody else did clotheslines better than me. They did everything about pro wrestling better than me. But when it comes to fighting, getting nitty and gritty, I'm the man.

Matt Riddle

Art Wrestling Very

Not only do I have fun in the ring, but I have fun walking out to the ring. I have fun walking away from the ring.

Matt Riddle

Way Walking Walk

There's nothing worse than a bunch of toothless, ignorant people yelling at you. It's horrible.

Matt Riddle

You Yelling Yell

Wrestling is one of the hardest things, and it has nothing to do with the extremely hard physical part of it. It has to do with the psychological part of it.

Matt Riddle

I'm usually just so laid back most of the times.

Matt Riddle

Growing up, my family wasn't really into sports, so we didn't really watch sports, and then one day I stumbled across the TV: pro wrestling.

Matt Riddle

I like to hit hard, I like to be hit hard, and I like really competitive matches. That's my take on pro wrestling.

Matt Riddle

Growing up, I was always a fan of wrestling, but I was also a fan of MMA and stuff.

Matt Riddle

I have to say, running in flip-flops through the airport can be pretty tricky.

Matt Riddle

My goal isn't just to make wrestling into a bigger show and make good money, but it's also to evolve pro wrestling to where I think it belongs.

Matt Riddle

I'm always learning, always trying new things, because you have to to stay fresh.

Matt Riddle

Living in my parents' house is pretty sweet. It's not like they're rich or anything, but they're pretty nice to me, so it was pretty good living there, too, and all I did was jujitsu. I was just like a stallion, just living on my parents' couch. It wasn't terrible.

Matt Riddle

It doesn't matter if you're the best wrestler in the world and can do every move perfectly; if you don't connect with the crowd or sell well or have good promos, nobody cares.

Matt Riddle

The first time I was in a ring with William Regal, I called him 'Bro,' and from there, everyone just kept saying 'Bro' to me. I kept saying 'Bro,' and before I knew it, I was deemed The King of Bros.

Matt Riddle

I feel like I started with wrestling, and a love of pro wrestling, that lead me to MMA and the UFC. And now it's come full circle back to pro wrestling.

Matt Riddle

My goal isn't to be one of the best; it's to change the game, to change the way things work.

Matt Riddle

I'm down to fight anybody at any given time, anywhere.

Matt Riddle

Pro wrestling fans love what they watch, and they go out to enjoy and have fun.

Matt Riddle

When I was in the UFC, I would get tickets for a fight, and then what I would do is go in the crowds and watch the rest of the fights. A lot of times, I would end up taking pictures and signing people's books. I didn't care if I got any money or anything. I was just there enjoying my time and watching the fights.

Matt Riddle

Crowds are always different, but I know I have hardcore fans who watch everything I do online, so I have to make sure every match is different.

Matt Riddle

To me, the more the merrier. The more times I can get in that ring and get in front of a crowd and wrestle, the better.

Matt Riddle

I'm pretty sure I could beat Tyron Woodley. Nothing against him.

Matt Riddle

I was probably one of the top three or four wrestlers in the world on the indies, just killing it. Nobody really saw me going to a bigger company because of my past and just how people view me.

Matt Riddle

I always wanted to wrestle, but when you're a kid, how do you do pro wrestling? For me, it seemed like the easiest way for me was to get into amateur wrestling and go that route because it was a place where I was allowed to go.

Matt Riddle

Being real in pro wrestling has paid off. Just being myself - that really translated to the fans.

Matt Riddle

When you have a guy like me who's a former UFC fighter and who is basically a normal guy who can do exceptional things, that connects with people rather than some random Viking who can also do exceptional things.

Matt Riddle

Promoters saw the potential in me and the value in me. It was because of companies like Evolve, PWG, Progress, and Beyond Wrestling. Those are the big ones that gave me a push and made my name worth something on the indies.

Matt Riddle

I've always been a bro, and I've used the word 'bro' a lot.

Matt Riddle

If you train, you work hard, you're actually 110-percent dedicated, you're doing it for all the right reasons, you're probably gonna end up on the top. You know the cream always rises to the top.

Matt Riddle

I love fighting, but I don't miss waiting months upon months just to fight once in front of people and then have to wait months again to fight once in front of people.

Matt Riddle

I get more respect doing professional wrestling than I ever did in MMA.

Matt Riddle

In fighting, if you get hit in the face, you don't show it. You can't show it.

Matt Riddle

That's why I like the indies: because I like being who I am. I get to be who I am in the ring, on the microphone, everywhere. It's great. I never have to get out of character because I am Matthew Riddle.

Matt Riddle