WWE Star Says They Were Heartbroken At The Royal Rumble

Matt Riddle has been trying to get a match with Brock Lesnar for a long time. The only time they have been in the same place at the same time was at the Royal Rumble. Now, Riddle has revealed feeling heartbroken after the event.

In an interview with Alex McCarthy, Riddle told the story of his day at the Royal Rumble. Initially, he felt excited but that did not last. Here is the full quote:

“Eventually, I find out I’m going to be in the Rumble. Now I’m stoked! I’m like ‘what if I get my chance!’ [with Brock Lesnar]. I don’t even know if I should say his name. But what if I get my chance? Now I’m starting to play the scenarios in my head and, of course, ‘what if I do this’ but then also, this isn’t just about me, there’s 29 other people.

So I was just like if I can get anything, I’ll be extremely happy. Then, of course, [Paul] Heyman and his security guard – I won’t mention his name [laughs] – him and his security guard come up to me and basically told me I had no chance in hell – it was very Vince McMahon like [laughs] – no chance in hell that I was going to get that match with him and I’d have better luck doing something else. I’ll be honest, at first, I was just like awww [disappointed], I got this far and you’re literally holding me like this [tightly]. Like, he’s holding me like we’re friends but we’re not. Then he [Lesnar] tells me ‘it’s never going to happen.'”

Riddle then talked about feeling heartbroken about a possible match not happening and his quick exit in the Rumble match itself.

“So, I wasn’t mad, I wasn’t sad, I was more just heartbroken. But it’s like when a girl turns you down on a date; hey, it doesn’t mean give up completely. It’s like OK, let’s go back to the drawing board, maybe I came on a little too strong this time. Maybe I’ll try something different to convince him, ya know?

So that’s how that scenario played out. Then I got to the Rumble, got to play with Edge, kick Corbin, kicked now, reigning heavyweight champion, Drew McIntyre. The pop was pretty beautiful too, but the pop if I had of gotten in the ring slightly earlier [when Brock was in] – ahhhh! I’m pretty sure the crowd would have been like ‘oh my god! He’s going to get his chance!’ But hey, still a pretty good pop.”

Riddle is currently set to make his way to the main roster. His loss to Timothy Thatcher in the NXT Fight Pit match appears to have been his last match on the yellow brand and he will be appearing on SmackDown going forward.

What did you think of Matt Riddle’s appearance at the Royal Rumble? Let us know on Twitter!

• Brock Lesnar
• Matt Riddle
• Royal Rumble
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