Riddle has responded to The Undertaker and he doesn't agree with the assessment that wrestlers today are "soft."
In January, the Undertaker appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and said it's tough for him to enjoy the current WWE product because it's "too soft and pretty" with "not enough edge."
Speaking to Vicente Beltrán (transcription via Vi Be & Wrestling), Riddle weighed in on Undertaker's comments.
"I would say to the Undertaker and everybody else, times have changed, the human race and everyone is evolving, and yes we don’t carry knives and guns to work because we have metal detectors to keep us safe so people don’t do that. We have a wellness policy where we are all getting tested regularly so we are safe and in our right state of mind. I love my job, I show up to work and… I am a former professional UFC fighter that broke people’s jaws on a steel cage, something that wasn´t around when he was a young man and I bet if it was he still wouldn’t step up because it takes a different breath, so that’s that and he shouldn’t say certain things about the upcoming roster because we are real savages, not pretend ones, so he should watch out," said Riddle.
He continued by saying, "But I still respect him, I think just a little overzealous and I don’t think he wanted to be mean I just think he thought his time was tougher. I would say this when he worked times weren’t tougher, they weren’t smart either and they were dumber, they abused certain things, they abused their bodies and they are all paying the price for it. Today’s wrestlers are smarter, work smarter and if they think they took more bumps, we don’t work the same schedule you were working, and you can’t say we are softer. For that, we're smarter and more educated like the modern day athlete. We're are not getting hurt that much, we're training smart, we eat healthier and we do things better because people in the past made so many mistakes that we learned from them. So Undertaker saying we are soft, I don’t think we are soft, I think we are more intelligent and we don’t get hurt and don’t put ourselves in stupid situations like bringing guns to work. So Undertaker, nothing but respect, but at the end of the day respect and understand evolution."
Many have spoken up regarding Undertaker's comments over the past month with leaders like Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre also weighing in. You can find Reigns' comments by clicking here and McIntyre's comments by clicking here.
Riddle captured the United States Title on Sunday at WWE Elimination Chamber, defeating John Morrison and Bobby Lashley in a triple threat match. If you missed anything from WWE Elimination Chamber, check out Fightful's full report on the show by clicking here.