Ranking 15 WWE Debuts And Returns In 2020
5. (Matt) Riddle
Much like Keith Lee, Matt Riddle came to WWE as a highly
touted NXT superstar with legit credentials.
Unlike Lee, Riddle came in aiming at the middle rather than the top, which might be disappointing to some, but it helped moderate expectations. Also, Riddle has steered clear of a lot of the strange booking of losing matches randomly or going 50/50 with people left and right. Rather, Riddle has won most of his singles matches. The brand switch also helped reset him a bit.
Riddle has leaned heavily on the “bro” persona – naturally – to downplay any speedbumps along the way, though the writers scripting his promos need to just put the pens down and let the Original Bro do it himself. He closes out 2020 in a position to challenge for the United States Championship, which is a good spot for him.
We have to obviously dock Riddle standing due to being named in the #SpeakingOut allegations, though WWE apparently was aware of and investigated the claims previously – and they’ve released several other superstars named through the movement. But still, it definitely tarnishes his reputation at best, and is damning, reprehensible and criminal at worst. But lacking anything definitive, we’ll try to keep the ranking relatively confined to the onscreen product.