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United States Matt Riddle, known as "The Original Bro," transitioned from a distinguished mixed martial arts career in the UFC to a prominent professional wrestling career, achieving championships in WWE, MLW, and NJPW.
Riddle signed with WWE in July 2018 and portrayed a stereotypical carefree, barefoot surfer valley boy. He was assigned to the NXT brand.
The former UFC fighter is going to be a cornerstone of the indie wrestling company as they partner with a new streaming platform.
Matt Riddle is in TNA as he's Zachary Wentz and Kushida's mystery partner!
Jeff Cobb is Matt Riddles tag partner, reuniting the Chosen Bros to face TMDK's Bad Dude Tito and Zack Sabre Jr.
Riddle returned to Major League Wrestling (MLW) at Kings of Colosseum on January 6, 2024, defeating Jacob Fatu. On February 24, at Intimidation Games, Riddle successfully defended his NJPW World Television Championship against Bad Dude Tito. On March 29, at War Chamber, he successfully defended the title against Kosei Fujita. On June 1, Riddle won the Battle Riot VI. On January 11, 2025 at Kings of Colosseum, Riddle defeated Satoshi Kojima to win the MLW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. On September 13 at Fightland, Riddle lost the title to Mads Krule Krügger, ending his reign at 245 days. On October 4 at Slaughterhouse, Riddle turned heel for the first time in his career after defeating Alex Hammerstone with a low blow and declaring himself as the "Rude Dude".
Riddle made his debut for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) on August 17, 2024 at Triplemanía XXXII: Mexico City, where he defeated Komander and Laredo Kid in a three-way match for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship. Riddle had his first successful title defense against El Fiscal on October 6 at Héroes Inmortales. Riddle lost the title to Laredo Kid on December 7 at Cierre De La Origenes.
Matthew Fredrick Riddle was born on January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he attended Saratoga Springs High School. Riddle excelled in wrestling, becoming a New York state champion in 2004. He further pursued wrestling at East Stroudsburg University on an athletic scholarship for two years before a coaching change led him to mixed martial arts. Riddle began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, crediting B.J. Penn’s book, “Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge,” for his early learning.
His professional MMA career began in 2008, gaining recognition through SpikeTV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 7.” Riddle won his UFC debut against Dante Rivera in June 2008. Over his UFC tenure, he compiled an octagon record of 7-3 (2 NC), including a victory over Dan Cramer at UFC 101 in 2009 and a TKO win against DaMarques Johnson at UFC on Versus 2 in 2010. Notably, he achieved a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus in July 2012. Riddle was released from the UFC in 2013 due to multiple positive tests for marijuana. He briefly competed for Titan FC in 2014, securing a win via guillotine choke.
In 2014, Riddle shifted his focus to professional wrestling, making his debut in February 2015 at the Monster Factory. He quickly rose through the independent circuit, signing with WWNLive in 2015 and later with WWE in 2018. During his time in WWE, he held the NXT Tag Team Championship with Pete Dunne, the WWE United States Championship, and the Raw Tag Team Championship twice with Randy Orton as RK-Bro. After his departure from WWE in September 2023, Riddle joined Major League Wrestling (MLW) in 2024, winning the MLW World Heavyweight Championship, and also competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he held the NJPW World Television Championship, and AAA Lucha Libre Worldwide where he won the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship.
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