Since being released from WWE in September of 2023, Matt Riddle has been going a little bit of everything the wider professional wrestling world has to offer.

From making an appearance at NJPW Strong's Battle in the Valley, to reuniting his feud with the Fatu family by wrestling Jimmy and Jey Uso's cousin Jacob Fatu in MLW, to giving a series of interviews to multiple outlets, both niche wrestling and mainstream, fans have seen far more of the “King of Bros” over the last month than his final three months in the WWE combined, with a chance to talk openly and honestly about his time in The Fed.

Stopping by Signed By Superstars to talk shop with some fans and sign some merchandise, Riddle decided to set the record straight about what really happened at the 2022 Royal Rumble, which was ultimately won by Brock Lesnar but was once considered his match to win.

“I wouldn’t say if it wasn’t for Brock Lesnar [preventing him from winning the match], right, listen, doesn’t write the script. Anybody that’s been in the back knows people can be very influential. And I’m not gonna say I was guaranteed to win because anybody that’s wrestled in WWE [knows] nothing’s guaranteed,” Matt Riddle said via Wrestling News Source. “I had a United States Title that was supposed to keep [that] I lost it, me and Randy [Orton], we’re supposed to turn on each other. We didn’t. A lot of things are told to you and don’t happen, and other things happen. But yes, at one point, I was told it was a possibility that (inaudible) the Rumble and that I was gonna do a triangle to Brock and this and that. And when Brock came in the back, and Brock is Brock, there’s no I have no hard feelings. He just did the job to Bobby. He goes, ‘Hey, you guys got to do business for me. I did this good business for Bobby, and we do good business for me.’ And we’re like, ‘All right, [what are] you’re gonna do,’ and everybody was like, ‘Okay,’ and that’s what we did. We sat in, and we did our jobs.”

Would it have been cool to see Riddle win the 2022 Royal Rumble? Eh, it depends on what Vince McMahon had up his sleeve for a Riddle win, as he was still in charge of WWE Creative at the time and would have been picking the winner for every show as a result. Still, considering how meh the ultimate match between Riddle and Reigns proved to be on SmackDown, if that was the route the promotion was thinking about going down, giving Lesnar the rub was the right call.

Matt Riddle is excited to see wrestle Hiroshi Tanahashi in NJPW.

Elsewhere on Matt Riddle's one bro media tour, the former United States Champion stopped by The Kurt Angle Show to talk about his time in WWE and what he wants to accomplish now that he's free to do as he pleases.

Turning his attention to his biggest challenge ahead, a one-on-one match against  Hiroshi Tanahashi, Riddle discussed just how excited he is to wrestle the “Ace of NJPW,” especially now that he can go all-in on his technical prowess without having to rely on the goofiness of his WWE gimmick.

“I got a year visa (to be in Japan) so I plan on working throughout the year and I’ll be there in February,” Matt Riddle told Kurt Angle on his podcast via Post Wrestling. “I’ll be there in Sapporo wrestling (Hiroshi) Tanahashi for the TV Title… I didn’t know they were gonna throw me in there like that. But, I’m pretty stoked, I’m honored honestly and flattered that they would put me in such a position and all I can do now is not disappoint and I know my style, I know my athleticism, I know what I bring to the table, I’ll thrive over there and given the opportunity which they’re giving me, I think I’m gonna make some noise and that’s my plan. Just make some noise and kind of bring in a more aggressive bro. People still want the bro, which is okay, but I wanna bring back that more aggressive version of me. Not the kind of goofy, whatever…”

Will it be exciting to see Riddle get in a New Japan Pro Wrestling ring with Tana? Yes, even the WWE version of Riddle would have been a fun counterpoint to the more traditional stylings of the NJPW President. But if fans can instead get the Riddle who wrestled Minoru Suzuki before landing in WWE, well, then fans could be in for a serious treat when folks least expect it.