Matt Riddle Reflects on His NJPW Tenure

Matt Riddle discusses the conclusion of his New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) stint after his WWE release in September 2023. Following his WWE exit, Riddle appeared in a video at NJPW New Year Dash!! and made an impactful debut at NJPW Battle in the Valley, where he captured the NJPW World Television Championship. He lost the title at NJPW Windy City Riot in April and has not wrestled for NJPW since.

In an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri for SHAK Wrestling, Riddle shared his thoughts on ending his time with NJPW, stating, “New Japan was great. Honestly, I was supposed to go there and do a tour when I first started working with them, but I had a scheduling conflict.” He recalled prioritizing a scheduled match with RVD, which led to complications in his NJPW bookings.

Riddle elaborated, “They said that wasn’t gonna work, and I was like, okay. And then I worked for them in Chicago, I dropped the Zack Sabre Jr. Then they wanted me to wrestle again... When they did the next one for California, I had a booking with MLW... Ever since I was like, ‘Hey, I have a booking that day with MLW,’ they have not reached out since. But I don’t think it’s anything personal.”

Riddle also mentioned that his busy schedule contributed to the lack of NJPW match opportunities. He explained, “I wrestle a lot, I wrestle two or three times a weekend usually, and their schedule, they didn’t pencil me in.” He emphasized, “I think that was it... we’re in demand. I wrestle all over the world all the time. You might not be seeing me on TV, but I’m still very busy.”