Matt Riddle makes NXT in-ring debut at house show
Editor’s note: JJ Williams contributed to this article.
Matt Riddle made his NXT in-ring debut at tonight’s house show in Sanford, Florida.
In his first in-ring appearance for WWE, Riddle defeated Fabian Aichner in a back-and-forth match. Riddle was over with the crowd, wrestled barefoot (like he did on the indies), and got the win after using a powerbomb where he followed up by hitting a knee strike.
Riddle signing with WWE was officially announced when he was shown sitting in the front row at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV last month. He has yet to appear on NXT television since then, but Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Riddle facing Kassius Ohno was planned for TakeOver: WarGames in Los Angeles, California on November 17.
Tonight was the first time that Riddle has wrestled since facing PCO at Joey Janela’s Lost in New York on August 17. Riddle is set to make one final indie appearance at PROGRESS Wrestling’s show at Wembley Arena in England on September 30. Riddle will be facing Mark Haskins at that event.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.