Matt Riddle was released by WWE last Friday (Sept. 22), the last main roster name to come out from the company’s latest round of cuts.
The decision to part ways with the former two-time Raw Tag champ was said to be because Riddle “burned through too many chances” at WWE. One likely example was his incident at JFK International Airport on Sept. 9 while traveling back from the Superstar Spectacle event in India.
Riddle posted and deleted an Instagram accusing a Port Authority Police Officer of sexually assaulting him, which reportedly led to both the Port Authority Police Department and WWE launching investigations into the incident.
After his post, reports surfaced of what prompted his interaction with the cops at JFK. In those, Riddle was described by sources as “disorderly”, “disruptive”, and “heavily intoxicated”. But he was not detained or charged, and did not follow up on his own brief social media accusation by filing a formal complaint. Other than the rumors of how it factored into his release, that was the last we’d heard of it.
Now, TMZ has posted video footage of Riddle in the terminal prior to whatever happened between him and the police.
In that, Riddle can be seen holding a drink and does appear to be inebriated. At one point, he uses the microphone behind the airline counter at the gate to ask others waiting if they’re capable of flying the plane (the flight had been repeatedly delayed). The employee who takes the mic away from Riddle is smiling, but at the end of the video we see another employee directing him away from the plane entrance when he appears to be trying to board.
A witness TMZ spoke to said Riddle and a companion were drinking at an airport restaurant while waiting out the delays. They told the site he was “‘extremely loud and rude”, and became “incredibly obnoxious” as time went on. When he was denied entry to the plane, the source claims Riddle got upset and asked, “So are you telling me I’m not going home today?”
Here’s the video:
While at this point the JFK Airport incident doesn’t seem to be leading to any legal trouble for Riddle, this is not the kind of coverage WWE wants to see their talent receiving. Combine this with issues ranging from Riddle publicly criticizing other WWE Superstars to accusations of sexual assault against him, and the reasoning behind the company’s decision to release him comes into focus.
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