7 Ups And 2 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Phoenix

5. Riddle Looks Like The Real Deal

matt riddle kassius ohno
WWE.com

Having never seen Matt Riddle before he joined NXT, this writer was curious to see how he performed.

After his convincing win at TakeOver: Phoenix, it’s safe to say he’s got the tools to be really successful, as he matched Kassius Ohno with power moves, strikes and submission holds. Ultimately, it was Riddle raining down elbows on Ohno that earned him the duke.

It’ll be interesting to see what they do next with Riddle, as he is nothing like a prototypical WWE superstar. But with NXT superstars due to be called up in the coming months, there might be more opportunities for him.

One note though: Riddle’s “Original Bro” gimmick really lends itself to him turning heel and being a, aloof, stuck-up jackass, which could work well down the road.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.