Matt Riddle isn't prioritizing a move to AEW

Matt Riddle was released from WWE in September 2023. Riddle had spent five years with the company, having joined in 2018. He worked his way up from NXT to Raw, but had struggled to get over with the fan base during the final months of his tenure. Now that he's a free agent, many expected Riddle to make the leap over to AEW.

Multiple former WWE talents are now on the books under Tony Khan. Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, John Moxley and Bryan Danielson are some of the more prominent names on the roster. However, during a virtual autograph signing on Facebook, Riddle revealed that his current priorities don't involve a move to All Elite Wrestling. 

"TV is a lot different than wrestling on ppl or the Indies. There are commercials, they cut times, they change things," Riddle said. "...For me, right now, New Japan, MLW, the Indies, I can display my art and I'm not under such a crunch of time or requirement. I have a lot more freedom. TNA isn't out of the picture either. There are certain things I wanted to do. I really wanted to work in Japan and I made that a priority."

Riddle isn't the only recently released WWE talent that has been linked with AEW over the last few months. Dolph Ziggler's name has also been floated around as a potential addition online. However, it would appear neither star is ready to commit to the alternative brand just yet. 

That may be good news for AEW, though. Their roster is already bloated and could do with being trimmed before any more new additions are added. Will Ospreay will make the switch over from New Japan Pro Wrestling in the near future, once his contract has officially expired and his deal with AEW kicks in. Khan will need to ensure he has plans to let Ospreay hit the ground running. Any further additions would only complicate that. 

As such, Riddle's decision to focus on the Indies or with a company such as New Japan makes sense for everybody, at least in the short term. Maybe in the future, once AEW's roster is better aligned and Riddle has rebuilt his reputation in the wrestling industry, we will see the two sides reach an agreement. Until then, AEW has plenty of talent to develop in-house, and that should be another reason Riddle avoids signing with the company any time soon.