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Matt Riddle is a massive fan-favorite WWE Superstar on the RAW brand. Not only because of his athletic style, given his history in MMA, but also due to his eccentric character as he famously performs barefoot.
Riddle is an MMA fighter turned pro wrestler. His career in combat sports began in The Ultimate Fighter in 2008. Although he wasn't successful in winning the reality series, he signed with the UFC that same year, where he performed until 2013.
The former UFC fighter began wrestling in 2014 and made his way to WWE in 2018 by first appearing on NXT. Two years later, Matt Riddle moved to the main roster. During all of this, it was noted how he would perform barefoot, mostly wearing slippers during his entrance.
According to Matt Riddle, he wrestles barefoot because he suffered frostbite when he was younger during a vacation in Wisconsin. He revealed that it even got to the point where they thought about amputating his foot, but fortunately, that didn't happen.
"I put my feet in the water, my feet were on fire. When I told my mom, she said, 'I'm pretty sure you have frostbite, Matt.' We went to the doctor, sure enough, I had frostbite. They were even thinking about amputating the bro's tootsies, the feets, the foots, bro. Bro, luckily, I pulled through and that didn't happen, but that's why I never wear shoes. Whenever I put a pair of shoes on, I get that burning sensation." [H/T Fightful]
Matt Riddle recalls Triple H's reaction to him being barefoot
The Original Bro's style and character are certainly not meant for everyone. However, it looks like his uniqueness was appreciated by some of the most important names in the business.
Matt Riddle shared in a WWE Exclusive that when he first saw Triple H, the former was so nervous that he only repeated things the latter said. The second time they met, Riddle did not wear any shoes, but the Chief Content Officer was fine with it.
"I remember the first time I met Triple H, I was kinda nervous. And everything he said to me, I just repeated back to him and then he just walked away. And then I probably didn't talk to him for another year and a half after that. The next time I saw him, I didn't have shoes on, but he seemed cool about that." [0:12 - 0:30]
Aside from The Game, Vince McMahon also reportedly had a good response to Matt being barefoot. Despite the RAW star's dilemma due to the frostbite, he has turned it into one of his strengths as a wrestler.
If quotes are used from the second portion of the article, give credit to WWE and add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
