WWE Helps Former UFC Star Land Wrestling Contract

Earlier this year, former Ultimate Fighter standout and UFC alum Matt Riddle had a tryout with the WWE, following several months of training at the Monster Factory in New Jersey, where he has captured at least one title. From all accounts, the tryout went well, and there was talk of Riddle joining the WWE roster, must likely on an NXT deal. However, it looks like the WWE want Riddle to go out and get some more experience. According to an interview with Riddle on The Roman Show, the former mixed martial artist has stated that the company has helped him secure a contract with the EVOLVE wrestling promotion.

I did a tryout with the WWE. The tryout went extremely well, went as well as it could. The WWE was nice enough to set me up with EVOLVE and wrestle for them. It€™s a process. From what I see, it€™s on the right track. It€™s not like the transition I had with the UFC.

The transition mentioned would no doubt be from the TUF house to the UFC roster, where he compiled a 7-3 record, fighting the first ten fights of his career in the promotion. Riddle was a popular striker with a fan-friendly style, but repeated marijuana failures on drug tests (he has a medical license to use the drug, but state athletic commissions do not recognize those) and clashes with UFC President Dana White led to his ouster from the company. He would fight once for Titan FC in 2014, sign with Bellator MMA but never debut, and move over to the wrestling world, where, Riddle said, he has been an active participant in the backyard realm for years.

I know what I am doing, and I€™ve been wrestling pro wrestling my entire life. I€™ve had about 40 matches in front of a ring and a crowd, but I probably had a couple of thousand in the backyard; you know what I mean. I€™ve been doing it for a while just not at this level.

Whether a short tour of duty on the indy scene leads to the WWE signing him is anyone's guess, but it's good to see they're willing to help out developing talents like this.