H Jenkins on October 3, 2023
Matt Riddle was released by WWE, and there was a lot to unpack in that situation. As Ringside News exclusively reported, the Original Bro had over two dozen incidents where he had backstage heat in WWE. Now, we have even more to this story.
On June 19th, 2020, during the Speaking Out movement, Indiana-based wrestler Thunderkitty posted a tweet that was later deleted. The tweet mentioned an incident where one of her friends, a highly respected veteran female wrestler, had asked Matt Riddle to refrain from changing into his wrestling attire in a women’s locker room and to leave. According to the tweet, Riddle responded confrontationally, leading to a heated exchange between them.
David Bixnespan looked into the allegations and discovered that Malia Hosaka was the “veteran lady wrestler” who spoke up to Matt Riddle.
“We were all in there, our show was going on. I didn’t know who he was, but I was sitting with my feet propped up and eyes closed. When I opened them[,] he was on my right stripped down to his underwear and I got mad at the lack of respect from today’s generation. For him to come into the locker room to change while the women had the room[,] and to strip down and change was disrespectful. There was a bathroom down the hall that fans couldn’t get to that he could have used. [In m]y generation[,] the men and women respected each other enough to at least ask if it was ok or to ask for privacy. It pissed me off[,] and then his attitude that he had underwear on and that it wasn’t a big deal pissed me off more[,] so I told him how I felt about the lack of respect.”
When asked by Bix for comment, Matt Riddle responded to say that this wasn’t “even an incident.” He went on to claim that the whole situation was actually smoothed over that night.
“The PWX thing wasn’t even an incident[.] [T]here was only one locker room (which isn’t uncommon on the indies unfortunately) [and] the promoter told me to change in there[,] so I did. Malia confronted me on my way out, I explained that the promoter told me to go change in there, and she talked to the promoter and that was the end of it.”
David Bixenspan spoke to other sources, and they claim that this could not have happened the way Matt Riddle described. Contrary to Riddle’s recollection of events, the PWX show actually had two locker rooms.
According to sources familiar with how the shows were run, though, this could not have happened the way that Riddle described it. In particular, it was made clear that PWX always had two locker rooms if there were women on the show, particularly at the venue in question, which had plenty of spare rooms. It was also stressed that even if a singular locker room for the QOC show was repurposed as the men’s locker room for the PWX show, all of the men on the PWX show were told not to enter the space until all of the women had cleared out.
It was also noted by the same sources that Riddle would have had no reason to change into his gear at any point when the all-women’s show was ongoing. According to the Eventbrite page for the doubleheader, which was sold as a single ticket granting access to both shows, QOC started at 4:00 p.m. ET and would have been over by 6:00 p.m. (the doors open time for PWX), while PWX had a 7:00 p.m. bell time.
David Bixenspan’s article also covers statements made by “Abby the Butcher,” who claimed to be the van driver during the trip where Candy Cartwright accused Riddle of sexual assault. The tweet containing this claim was later deleted, and Riddle asserts that Abby realized the trip in question was on a different occasion than the one he had driven for.
“In regards to my friend Abby driving the van, he’s driven me and others on multiple occasions/loops in the north east [sic] when I was on the indies [and] even in WWE,” wrote Riddle when asked for comment. (“Abby” didn’t respond to tweets asking about it.) “[W]hen he realized she was talking about a different van ride/loop in the Midwest[,] he realized it and took his tweet down.”
Matt Riddle was implicated in the Speaking Out movement by Samantha Tavel, known as Candy Cartwright. In October 2020, Tavel filed a lawsuit against EVOLVE Wrestling, Gabe Sapolsky, Riddle, and World Wrestling Entertainment, seeking $10 million from each defendant. WWE and Sapolsky were removed from the lawsuit in March 2021, but Riddle’s request for dismissal was denied.
Legal documents from the lawsuit allege that Riddle initiated sexual misconduct against Tavel in April 2017, in a parking lot following an Evolve wrestling event. The lawsuit further claims that Riddle boasted about these actions to former Evolve owner Gabe Sapolsky and that both Evolve and WWE implicitly condoned Riddle’s alleged sexual violence against Tavel.
We will keep an eye on this story, right here at Ringside News. Matt Riddle’s name is certainly involved in a few controversies, and even more information could come to the surface soon enough.
What’s your take on this story about Matt Riddle? Let us know in the comments section below!
October 3, 2023 1:33 pm
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