Matt Riddle On His Way To WWE NXT

Matt "Deep Waters" Riddle has recently met with Triple H and will be headed to NXT "very shortly," according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The former MMA fighter is currently competing for EVOLVE Wrestling, where he's quickly risen to become one of the promotion's top stars. Riddle, who made his MMA debut as part of "The Ultimate Fighter" season seven and racked up an 8-3-2 record in the sport, retired in 2014 to pursue a career in pro wrestling. After training at New Jersey's Monster Factory, Riddle attended a WWE tryout and drew interest from company officials. Given his lack of experience and the company's budding relationship with EVOLVE, WWE was able to get Riddle bookings with the independent promotion before committing to a contract with him. Since making his EVOLVE debut late last year, Riddle has reportedly shown amazing improvement. With an undefeated record and a win in the company's 2016 Style Battle, "Deep Waters" earned a shot at Timothy Thatcher's EVOLVE Championship. That bout is currently scheduled for EVOLVE 56 on March 19, and can be seen on live iPPV. Riddle is currently being advertised for EVOLVE events running through WrestleMania weekend, but he has no public commitments with the company after early April. He could jump to NXT by spring or summer, although as he wrestles at a heavier weight than he fought, he will not be eligible for the Global Cruiserweight Series.