Ex-WWE star reveals that he and Roman Reigns are ‘good’ after past beef

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when WWE fans were dissecting the feud between Roman Reigns and Matt Riddle, with each beat of their on-screen battle drawing questions about the behind-the-scenes beef running rampant online.

Fortunately, that is no longer a popular topic within the IWC, as Riddle has been out of WWE for almost a year, Reigns just returned after a few months away, and everyone has moved on, but in a recent interview with the New York Times, the “King of Bros” was asked about his relationship with the “Head of the Table,” where he noted that despite their past beef, they are ultimately “good.”

“This isn’t a flex; this is the truth,” Riddle said, believing he can beat the likes of Reigns and Goldberg in a real fight. “If I didn’t think I could I wouldn’t say it. You don’t hear me saying I can beat up Bobby Lashley, you know maybe on a good day. Or a Brock Lesnar, maybe on a good day,” Riddle told the New York Post.

“I think when he saw how professional I am in the ring and I also explained why things were said and I wasn’t just trying to call you out. I know my place in WWE, but when someone tells me to cut a promo on you, I’m gonna cut a promo on you. I think he understood that. Still wasn’t happy about it, but understood. Me and Roman, we’re good.”

Have Riddle and Reigns talked since the former was released by WWE? Probably not, but considering their program was literally years ago, the fact that they have both moved on is nice to know, regardless.

Mojo Rawley on recruiting ex-WWE talent for the wrestling combine

Going from one former WWE guy to another, Mojo Rawley has been on the promotional trail pushing something that, theoretically, Riddle could be a part of if they do a second event, the Black Label Pro Wrestling and Paragon Talent Agency wrestling combine, an exploratory effort coming to fans next month.

But what, you may ask, is a wrestling combine? Well, Rawley is glad you asked, as he took some time to break it down for Fightful in detail.

“Man, this is something we’re really excited about. I’m glad to be talking about it with you because I feel like the fans don’t quite grasp what the event is. There’s so much information. So it’s easy to think that this is just going to be another wrestling show,” Rawley noted. “Look, we got pro wrestling and we know who the best wrestlers are and who has the titles and all that stuff. But people always wonder who’s the strongest, who’s the fastest on a shoot? Like, if we put everybody together in a series of sports-specific drills, who would actually win outside of just your average bench press or squat that might favor the shorter, stockier guys? Or the sprints that favor the smaller guys?”

Interesting stuff, right? But who is taking part in the event? Well right now, there are only eight participants, four men and four girls, but Rawley feels good about the talent they have assembled, as it should give fans a good show.

“We were really careful with putting together our list. It was a collaborative project between us, Veritone One and DraftKings, and we’re stoked at the roster. So, on the girl’s side, I mean, Jordynne Grace, the juggernaut herself, no explanation needed there. I mean, Mandy Sacs, Dana Brooke, and Xia Li. I mean, those are four women that know their way around a weight room with legitimate sports backgrounds prior to pro wrestling. Then on the guy’s side, Parker Boudreau, who is a monster; Moose, who is a seven-year NFL veteran that was a starter at offensive lines, tossing people around was his job prior to everything he’s done in wrestling and obviously you can see how athletic he is there,” Rawley explained.

“Riddick Moss/Mike Rallis, who, when he was there, he had all the strength records over at the Performance Center. Another football background, his brother’s the D-Coordinator for the Cardinals. Lastly, Jack Swagger/Jake Hager is an undefeated MMA fighter, college wrestling, and all-American. These are four dudes that are just massive human beings. So, getting them in the same place to compete on a shoot, this is gonna be awesome. Oh, and they’re all wrestling afterwards.”

Is there a massive demand to see wrestlers do strength and conditioning drills on an indie show? I mean, probably not, but hey, good on an ex-WWE guy like Rawley for being excited about something out of the ordinary and for going all in on the idea with the help of multiple outside partners. If it works out, he’ll be heralded as a genius. And if it fails? Well, there have certainly been weirder things booked on an indie wrestling show, like Invisible Man versus Invisible Stan at GCW Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3.