Matt Riddle opened up about the challenges he faced during his WWE main roster debut, which coincided with $exual assault allegations made by indy wrestler Candy Cartwright.
Speaking on Developmentally Speaking, Riddle described the situation as “garbage” and noted the awkwardness of entering a locker room full of established stars who had likely seen the accusations online.
Cartwright accused Riddle of a 2018 incident, alleging he choked her and coerced her into oral $ex after she refused his advances. Riddle denied the accusations, calling them false and claiming he had been unfairly “MeToo’d”. He explained how the controversy overshadowed his debut match against AJ Styles, a moment that was supposed to fulfill his lifelong dream of wrestling in WWE.
Riddle admitted it was difficult to gain his colleagues’ trust at first but said his hard work and consistency eventually earned their respect.
He also shared that many wrestlers have faced similar challenges, which created a level of understanding over time. His tag team partner Pete Dunne was disgusted by the allegations at first, but understood the situation later.
While the situation made his debut bittersweet, Riddle emphasized that he has moved on and remains focused on his wrestling career.
Here’s what the former United States Champion said:
“For me, when I came up to the main roster — damn, the day I debuted, I got MeToo’d. It was garbage. But at the same time, imagine walking into a locker room full of legends and established people, and they’ve just read on Twitter or the internet that X, Y, Z happened. Then they meet you, and it’s like, ‘Oh.’ And you’re just standing there like, ‘I didn’t do anything.’ But they don’t know that. It was just awkward.
Over time, though, as people got to know me and saw how everything played out, it was cool. They understood. A lot of the guys and girls have been in similar situations, you know?
And to think — my whole life, I’d been working to get to WWE. As a child, this was the dream. This was the goal. And then I wrestle AJ Styles, and something horrific like that comes out. I was like, ‘Oh my God. All those meetings we had, everything they warned me about, it was true. People will do this.’”
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