Matt Riddle: ‘To Be A Good Pro Wrestler, You Have To Love Pro Wrestling’

Matt Riddle is one of just a few mixed martial artists who have successfully made the transition to pro-wrestling. Some think getting into wrestling is easy but Riddle has made it clear he thinks you need to love the business to be good at it.

Riddle said so in an interview with CBS Sports where he discussed UFC fighter Henry Cejudo who recently said he wanted to beat up Rey Mysterio after a fight.

Here is the full quote:

“Maybe their size might be an issue at first, especially Henry because he’s 135 pounds. Granted, the guy is a savage and knocks people out and is an amazing athlete. He’s charismatic, though, and maybe you put him in the ring with Big Show like Floyd Mayweather and, oh my goodness, you know? Time will tell. We’ll see how they go.

But you also have to realize wrestling is a PG kind of show. A lot of these MMA fighters bring a lot of heat, but they’re not going to be able to bring that same heat in pro wrestling. You’d be crossing a line that you shouldn’t cross. Because there’s lines. Lines that you shouldn’t cross. I mean, you’re talking to me, I cross lines all the time, you know? But you shouldn’t cross [them].”

“I wish I could say, ‘Yeah, if you’re an MMA fighter, hop in.’ But to be a good pro wrestler, you have to love pro wrestling. I’ve loved pro wrestling longer than I’ve loved mixed martial arts. It’s just that I wrestled in high school and I just went on that path before I got into pro wrestling. Tom Lawlor is the same way. He’s a great example of a mixed martial artist who loved pro wrestling before he started wrestling and he’s had pretty good success, I think.”

Riddle got into the business after being fired by the UFC. He is likely the best wrestler to have started as an MMA fighter but others like Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler, and ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor have been successful as well.

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