Matthew Riddle

Matthew Frederick Riddle (January 14, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on its NXT developmental brand. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Riddle made a name for himself by appearing on SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7.

Early life

Riddle was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and later moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he attended Saratoga Springs High School. He graduated from high school in 2004 and then attended East Stroudsburg University, where he was a member of the wrestling team for two years. After his head coach was fired, Riddle lost his wrestling scholarship and moved to MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Riddle's main experience comes from high school wrestling. He wrestled at Saratoga High School in upstate New York. There Riddle was a National wrestling Champion and in his Senior year was a New York state wrestling champion. He is 1-0 in amateur MMA.

Riddle worked as a roofer and trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the evenings. Since Riddle had little to no money, he did not train at a gym but in his apartment. Riddle used BJ Penn's book, Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge to help him learn.