UFC fighter turned WWE Superstar Matt Riddle. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The WWE and the UFC have always had a shared history together with some of the biggest names in MMA finding their footing in the spectrum of sports entertainment.
Names like Brock Lesnar, Ken Shamrock, and Dan Severn have made their mark in both the UFC and WWE and all three were always packaged in a similar fashion—world beaters who won’t even crack a smile—then there’s Matt Riddle.
The former Ultimate Fighter contestant is unlike any of the three other UFC greats as he’s never been booked as the most intimidating fighter on the roster and instead presented as a laid-back athlete who just happens to know a thing or two about hurting people.
Riddle said that while he’s the polar opposite of Lesnar, he’d rank himself just behind the former UFC heavyweight champion as the second-best WWE performer to have come from Dana White’s empire.
“I don’t want to toot my own horn but I think I’m really good at it. I personally rank myself very high so I pride and put myself behind The Beast [Lesnar], you know I’m number two,” said Riddle during a media availability session.
“Brock’s gotta be the best especially with how he’s booked and built and how he looks. He is a former UFC heavyweight champion. He’s very good at professional wrestling as well.”
“With the selling and the word game in promos, and being able to be goofy and being a savage when I have to be, I think I’m the whole package.”
Riddle, however, didn’t win gold in the UFC unlike Lesnar, Severn, and Shamrock.
Both Severn and Shamrock won the UFC Superfight titles while the former also became the UFC 5 Tournament Champion.
Riddle, who won the Raw Tag Team and United States titles in the WWE, though, stressed that he has high regard for both Severn and Shamrock.
“Ken Shamrock is pretty good when it comes down to it,” said Riddle. “Dan Severn, I’ve wrestled him, he’s amazing. Shamrock is a stallion, he’s got way bigger arms than mine right now.”