Matt Riddle Reflects On His WWE Release: ‘I Think It’s Mostly Money’

On a recent episode of “TMZ Inside The Ring,” Matt Riddle discussed the wave of releases that have occurred since TKO acquired WWE, including his own. Here are the highlights:

On the wave of releases that have occurred since TKO acquired WWE: “TKO bought it. They bought the UFC and WWE pretty close together, spent a lot of money. They’re just — dude, they’ve been firing people left and right. Even when I got fired, and — I mean, they had their reasons. But when I got fired, they fired what? Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali, countless others. And you could say they all had their issues one way or another: just being there too long, or not having the same creative vision or et cetera. You know, wrestling — there’s just, like any form of entertainment, there’s a million excuses of ‘Well, not anymore.’

“So that is what it is. But I think it was mostly money. Certain people were there this long, you got a certain check. I know, my last year I was supposed to make a million dollars a year, they fired me, and it ended December 27th, before I started making that first week of a million a year.”

On reality of the business: “And I’ll say this: pro wrestling, if you’re not getting what you should? Dude, it’s a brutal business, you know? I mean, there’s a time, you know — just like you said, backyard wrestling. But just do [it] in front of the VCR camera, you know? One of those handhelds. Now, I’ve gotta put my time in. King of Bros, the Rude Dude, and they’re like, you gotta pay me. And they do, so it’s good.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.