I'll be honest, when I first started pro wrestling, everybody else did clotheslines better than me. They did everything about pro wrestling better than me. But when it comes to fighting, getting nitty and gritty, I'm the man.
— Matt Riddle
In mixed martial arts, if you get kicked in the face, it's your job not to show any expression to your opponent.
Any match with Keith Lee is definitely circled on my calendar.
Pro wrestling fans love what they watch, and they go out to enjoy and have fun.
I started training at the Monster Factory, the ROH dojo, CZW, and I trained there. And eventually, I had a tryout with WWE.
Living in my parents' house is pretty sweet. It's not like they're rich or anything, but they're pretty nice to me, so it was pretty good living there, too, and all I did was jujitsu. I was just like a stallion, just living on my parents' couch. It wasn't terrible.
Growing up, my family wasn't really into sports, so we didn't really watch sports, and then one day I stumbled across the TV: pro wrestling.
With wrestling, I'm working all the time, I'm wrestling all the time, I'm performing all the time, and I'm making money all the time.
I'm already a personable person. I always try to smile and get to know somebody and say hello - even when people are trying not to talk to me.
I'm a shark, and I swam in a lot of different ponds, but I'm ready for the ocean.
If I do make WWE - because in my head, until it's official, it's not a thing - I think if they brought me in, it would be very short lived at NXT, and I'd be on main roster extremely quick.
Crowds are always different, but I know I have hardcore fans who watch everything I do online, so I have to make sure every match is different.
I have to say, running in flip-flops through the airport can be pretty tricky.
I'm just tired of the unethical people, the scumbags, all that. Maybe that's how all businesses are run, but in MMA, I've been in the UFC, Legacy, and Bellator. The UFC was the best, and even they didn't treat you that well.
I heard London is nice, so maybe it is. But I've only been to the armpit of England.
My parents told me if I wanted to fight, they wouldn't support me.
I'm a very aggressive person. I'm really intense.
It always feels good when you hear another guy in your industry give you praise.
Even when you're on top in the UFC, you only get paid a couple times a year.
My goal isn't just to make wrestling into a bigger show and make good money, but it's also to evolve pro wrestling to where I think it belongs.
In professional wrestling, the fans are tremendous.
Me and Kyle O'Reilly have wrestled all around the world. We've done good work.
I always wanted to wrestle, but when you're a kid, how do you do pro wrestling? For me, it seemed like the easiest way for me was to get into amateur wrestling and go that route because it was a place where I was allowed to go.
In my opinion, if I was going to pick main roster guys, I've always had a hunch out for Cesaro. I just feel like if we were able to just go at it, make it a fight, I think it would be pretty sensational.
Wrestling is one of the hardest things, and it has nothing to do with the extremely hard physical part of it. It has to do with the psychological part of it.
When I first started, I lived in Vegas because I was fighting in the UFC, and I was still fighting after the UFC.
In wrestling, sports entertainment, I get to fight in front of people; I get to wrestle in front of people; I get to entertain people sometimes four times a week - all around the country, all around the world.
I got into the UFC after six months of training. I started doing jiu-jitsu, had my first fight, tried out for 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and got on.
I'm always learning, always trying new things, because you have to to stay fresh.
I will be completely honest: when I fought in Manchester, they were very cruel to me. One fan actually spat directly in my face, and he was lucky enough where it hit my mouth.
The bottom line is, I've got a wife and three kids. I've got bills I have to pay.
There's nothing worse than a bunch of toothless, ignorant people yelling at you. It's horrible.
I'm just not very good at holding on to jobs.
My striking isn't the prettiest, and I hit really hard.
In pro wrestling, if somebody throws a move, it's my job not to get hurt but also to sell the move and make it look like I'm dying.
I was landscaping not too long ago, so I'm extremely grateful for the people supporting me in wrestling. Not that landscaping is terrible, but I'd rather be suplexing and punching people.
My goal is to make wrestling more like mixed martial arts.
Being real in pro wrestling has paid off. Just being myself - that really translated to the fans.
I like wrestling the bigger guys, personally, because I can lay into them harder, and they can dish it back out.
Growing up, I was always a fan of wrestling, but I was also a fan of MMA and stuff.
When I started doing pro wrestling, it wasn't the physical aspect doing the moves or taking the moves that was hard: it was interacting with the crowd, body movement, selling, getting that emotional attachment with people so they're invested in a match. That was the hard part.
When I first started wrestling, I didn't even want people to know I was in the UFC.
I just like people that bring in a very competitive mentality to pro wrestling.
If you're a wrestler in the WWE, then your goal is to be the headliner, main event of WrestleMania.
I feel like I started with wrestling, and a love of pro wrestling, that lead me to MMA and the UFC. And now it's come full circle back to pro wrestling.
I love working with new guys, especially MMA guys.
I'm down to fight anybody at any given time, anywhere.
I like to fight. That's who I am.
I can handle boos. Boos entertain me.
I got a short - I got a temper. I fight in a cage for a living. There's a reason people like us are wired slightly different.
