Matt Riddle discusses his first meeting with William Regal and more.
Unsurprisingly, The King of Bros considers everyone a "bro." Even WWE officials. During his time in EVOLVE, Matt Riddle got multiple looks from Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting William Regal on behalf of WWE. While talking to Regal in the ring, Riddle affectionately called Regal "bro."
“He said, ‘How dare you disrespect me,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He got all carried away, but that was years ago, Me and Regal now have a much better and respectful relationship, and I call him ‘Bro’ all the time, and he understands where I’m coming from now, and we’re better people for it," Riddle said in an interview with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald.
Upon signing with NXT, Riddle worried his name would be changed. When asked if WWE was thinking about changing his ring name, Riddle had an idea as to what he wanted to be called.
“So when I talked to them [after signing], somebody said, ‘Are we changing your name?’” Riddle recalled. “I was like, ‘If you’re gonna change it, I don’t want to, but if you’re gonna change it, I only want it to be one other thing.’ They said, ‘What would that be?’ I go, ‘Ratthew Middle.’ My [birth] name is Matthew Riddle, so I wanted to change the letters around so I can be Ratthew Middle, and the crowd could chant, ‘Ratth-ew Mid-dle. Ratth-ew Middle.’ It has a ring to it.”
Riddle has quickly become one of the top names in NXT thanks to friendly demeanor and ability to turn it on once in the ring. He is set to face Roderick Strong at NXT TakeOver: XXV.
