WWE's Matt Riddle Posts Then Deletes Allegation Of Sexual Assault At JFK Airport

Update: Riddle's claims being investigated by police department, eye-witness reports.

Matt Riddle
WWE.com

An investigation into allegations made by Matt Riddle on his Instagram account is currently taking place after the WWE Superstar took to the social media site with a lengthy post about an incident at JFK airport.

The since-deleted post read;

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"Nothing like being sexually assaulted by an officer and harassed at the JFK airport, no means no and just because I’m nice doesn’t mean yes!!! A**hole!!! Don’t know their Twitter or Instagram handles but I took pictures, normally I’m like whatever but today was really weird and uncomfortable and they made a point to make me feel small and useless. Definitely one of the most uncomfortable travel days I’ve ever had thanks NYC you’re so progressive and accepting!"

He later added;

"Finally leaving JFK and I never wanna come back here again"

The original allegation included a picture of the airport officer Riddle appeared to be referencing in his post, but that has since been deleted.

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Ringside News had several updates on the situation, including one from an "officer at the scene", who advised that "multiple attempts were made to de-escalate the situation with Matt Riddle before things got physical", that Matt Riddle "appeared to be heavily intoxicated" and that "officers showed up after Matt Riddle was acting disruptive.

TMZ also picked the story up, and have added that they were told;

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"...the cops talked to MR [Matt Riddle] -- as well as other witnesses -- and he seemed apologetic in the moment. No police report was filed, and everyone was free to go without incident. It's because of this that our sources say the Port Authority was shocked by Riddle's claim ... as, from their view, nothing went down to warrant such an accusation. Still, we're told the department is taking his claim seriously ... and an internal probe has been launched."

Expect further updates in the days/weeks ahead pending the outcome of the internal investigation. Riddle was travelling back to the United States following an appearance on WWE's Superstar Spectacle show in India.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett