How Matt Riddle Actually Botched His WWE SmackDown Debut
"My bad, bro!"
According to Fightful, Matt Riddle botched his debut on SmackDown.
The 19 June episode was set-up to coronate AJ Styles as new Intercontinental Champion before the incoming Riddle interrupted him. During the pre-taped segment, WWE wanted to make sure that certain things happened.
After Styles was "very funny" and bantered with Daniel Bryan about strapping the IC belt around his waist for him, John Laurinaitis crashed the scene via the Performance Center's PA system and repositioned everybody in-ring for Riddle's entrance.
Apparently, it was vitally important that the ex-NXT man could be seen clearly by the hard cam. WWE wanted to make sure that everyone at home could see "he wasn't wearing shoes".
Fightful also reported that AJ, Riddle and host Renee Young had lines written down in front of them on the table. At one stage, Riddle accidentally read one of the lines meant for Styles, recognised his mistake and stopped the filming with a quick, "My bad, bro".
That cracked everyone up, with the possible exception of Laurinaitis.
The WWE trainees in the "live crowd" all laughed because they're said to know Riddle's personality better than some on the main roster.