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According to Fightful, WWE officials are very happy with Matt Riddle's performance in his last NXT match. Ahead of his move to Smackdown on Fox, Riddle fought against Timothy Thatcher in a 'Cage Fight'. In a hard-fought match, Riddle lost, which hit two birds at a single throw, as it gave Riddle with a reason to leave NXT and awarded Thatcher a huge momentum with a win over a Superstar as popular as Riddle.
The WWE officials were hesitant about the success of the aforementioned steel cage match, as it was innovative and different from the cage matches that we have seen before in WWE. With the arrival of a new match type comes hesitation, and the officials were relieved when Riddle and Thatcher delivered a fantastic performance.
Thatcher was also praised for his in-ring work during the match. While Thatcher is a well-known and respected name in the Indy wrestling circuit, a sizeable portion of WWE audience had no idea about his style. But the officials were impressed when he succeeded matching his style with Matt Riddle to provide a believable match.
Matt Riddle tasted Championship success at NXT
Matt Riddle, a former mixed martial artist, is known amongst the members of the WWE Universe for wrestling with no shoes, the crisp strikes, and for the excessive use of the word 'bro.'
Matt Riddle first appeared in NXT as a part of the audience at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV. After unsuccessful challenges for the NXT North American Championship and NXT Championship, Riddle took a major interest in the Survivor Series brand rivalry. He also appeared at the Royal Rumble but was eliminated by King Corbin in less than a minute.
Riddle's first Championship success came as a part of The Broserweights; a team hastily made alongside Pete Dunne. At NXT Takeover: Portland, they won the NXT Tag Team Championships in a match against The Undisputed Era. When Dunne couldn't travel to the US because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he picked Timothy Thatcher as his replacement for Riddle's partner and the duo lost the titles to Imperium.
Matt Riddle will join Smackdown tonight where the audience will be eager to see 'The Original Bro' take on the likes of AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura.
