10 WWE Disasters Rescued With One Tiny Change

5. Matt Riddle Finds A Friend

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WWE

If only Vince McMahon had retired before he could book countless NXT workers into oblivion on the main roster. OK, so maybe that's a bit harsh, but come on - McMahon's mind believed he needed to explain Matt Riddle's barefoot style with some bullsh*t childhood tale about frostbitten feet!

Thrilling stuff.

That unnecessary backstory was absolutely atrocious, and it got Riddle off to a poor start when he started showing up on top-tier programming in 2020. Worse, the NXT standout was starting to burn through the usual bland singles stuff (winning the US Title, losing it, doing nothing else of note etc).

Then, he formed RK-BRO with Randy Orton, and things started to get fun. Simply having someone sigh through Riddle's backstage weirdness breathed new life into his stoner gimmick, and becoming part of a tag with one of WWE's top names saved him from midcard hell.

He's a rare example of somebody who got elevated by a thrown-together tag.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.