Backstage Details on NXT Star’s Imminent Move to Friday Night Smackdown

— On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Matt Riddle’s pending move to the Smackdown roster was discussed. Dave Meltzer noted that Riddle was “performing” on Monday with WWE taping content for future episodes of Smackdown, 205 Live and Main Event. Whether he is written off of NXT this week and then shows up on Smackdown on Friday is not known but appears to be the working plan.

— Riddle’s move to Smackdown instead of Raw was also questioned as he has been someone that Paul Heyman had a strong interest in, but the speculation was that Brock Lesnar is on Raw and there is apparently some legit heat that Lesnar has for Riddle. That “political situation” may have been the reason for Riddle on Smackdown, though another point that was brought up is that Bruce Prichard, who runs Smackdown, wanted Riddle too and also recently secured AJ Styles on the blue brand. As for Riddle’s prospects with Smackdown, it remains to be seen if Vince McMahon will “like” him but at the beginning, it appears that he will work a storyline with Baron Corbin going back to their interaction at the Royal Rumble where Corbin eliminated fan favorite Riddle.

— Meltzer also noted that WWE “had to bring him up” because of hsi contract situation – the implication being that once Riddle’s contract with WWE ran out and he never made it out of NXT, he would likely look to sign somewhere else – either AEW, New Japan or even Ring of Honor.

Follow Us

Results

Most Popular