Matt Riddle Reveals He Was Among Multiple WWE Releases

WWE released multiple wrestlers Friday, and a former United States and world tag team champion was among them.

Veterans Dolph Ziggler and Shelton Benjamin reportedly were among the releases WWE made, as well as Mustafa Ali. Matt Riddle revealed on social media he no longer is employed by the company. Haus of Wrestling compiled the full list of talents released Friday.

“Just wanted to inform everyone that I’m no longer with WWE,” Riddle posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. “Thank you for the memories and opportunities also thank you to all the fans for the support and love you give me every time I go out to the ring. See you all soon.”

Riddle’s former tag team partner Randy Orton was spotted by fans this month at the WWE Performance Center, which seemed to indicate he was nearing a return from injury. It was possible he and Orton would renew their tag team run, but that no longer is the case.

WWE’s releases came a week after it finalized its merger with UFC’s parent company Endeavor to form the publicly traded company TKO Group Holdings. It also came a day after TKO announced WWE’s new deal with NBC Universal to move “SmackDown” from FOX to USA Network for the first time since 2019.

Riddle is a former UFC fighter and was released after failing two drug tests in 2013. It’s unknown if his prior relationship with UFC and his public comments about Dana White influenced his release.

The 37-year-old signed with WWE in 2018 and earned praise for his “bro” character and his in-ring work.

In 2020, Riddle was accused of sexually assaulting female independent wrestler Candy Cartwright. WWE released a statement saying they were looking into the incident, and Riddle denied the claims. He later filed a restraining order. On Oct. 8, 2020, Cartwright filed a lawsuit against Riddle, WWE and Evolve president Gabe Sapolsky over the incident. The court dismissed WWE and Sapolsky from the suit in March 2021, and Cartwright dropped the lawsuit on July 13, 2021.

Riddle had been an indie wrestler since 2014 prior to signing with WWE, but he has not made his future in pro wrestling clear.