WWE Rumors: Matt Riddle teases Royal Rumble appearance

What's the story?

With Royal Rumble season upon us, a lot of people try to predict or guess who they think might make a surprise appearance in either of the two rumble matches.

NXT wrestler Matt Riddle did his part when he spoke with Edge and Christian on the E&C Podcast of Awesomeness. Riddle said he's a Rumble guy and would love to make history.

Ringsidenews.com provided part of the interview.

In case you missed it...

Matt Riddle was formerly a welterweight fighter for the UFC. He decided to leave the company for several reasons including unhappiness with the drug testing policy of the company.

Since he left, Riddle has successfully pursued a career in pro wrestling. He first worked for Evolve and some smaller independent promotions before signing with the WWE.

He debuted for NXT in the early fall and had a one-second squash win over Kassius Ohno at Takeover: WarGames 2. He's likely slated to have a big match at NXT Takeover: Phoenix which takes place the night before the Royal Rumble.

Riddle clearly is excited for the potential to compete on both nights.

The heart of the matter

Riddle is relatively new to NXT but is already one of the most popular stars of the brand.

He recently spoke with the E&C Podcast of Awesomeness to address several things, including the Royal Rumble:

“I’m really hoping in this new year because I know TakeOver is the same weekend as the Royal Rumble and I’ll be honest, I’m a big rumble guy. You never know, there might be a spot open, maybe I get in there, maybe I make some history. Right? Who knows? I’m aiming for the stars. The star stallion, the stallion star. Dude, it needs to happen. Yeah, it should happen. It should happen.”

Riddle is clearly gunning for a fast start to 2019.

What's next?

Riddle could just be saying what every young, hungry NXT superstar is probably saying. Making a surprise appearance in the rumble would be a big thing for him and it would certainly be a bright spot in the 30-man match.

Riddle is still relatively new to WWE but some signees don't necessarily spend a lot of time down in NXT. Bobby Roode and Drew McIntyre did not and EC3 will be joining the main roster soon.

If he does show up in the Rumble match, it might be a brief appearance a la Adam Cole last year.

Triple H doesn't want to completely have NXT gutted in order to remedy the ailments on the main roster. Riddle will likely be a featured player throughout his tenure in NXT and his career there is only getting started.