Matt Riddle Quotes

Wrestling was like stand-up comedy for me. Every night I had a live audience of 25,000 people to win over. My goal was never to be the loudest or the craziest. It was to be the most entertaining.

Damien Sandow, he's a good entertainer. He keeps your attention.

Without talent, I don't care how funny the writers are or how many comedy lines they come up, without wrestlers you can't have a wrestling program.

When it came to eliciting a reaction from an audience, especially at the time, I think Ric Flair is the guy who is constantly up there. Especially when you talk about speaking with passion and being able to convey a ton of emotion with his words and his body language.

When I was young, a lot of the guys could sell themselves to me on the way to the ring with the way they acted and their mannerisms. Guys like Shawn Michaels, who I loved growing up. They were just loud. They didn't even need to say a word because they came out and had this crazy ring gear on.

People go into that arena, and they know the fix is in. They know what pro wrestling or sports entertainment is. That being said, they want it executed to the highest level so that they can suspend their disbelief and buy in, and so, in a world of make believe, you make people believe in you. It's as real as it can be.

There's so many great wrestlers in this sport who could probably work circles around me and it's amazing to see that, but I love being the kind of character who can take you on a roller coaster, make you smile and laugh.

I get a lot of influence from pro wrestling. People are like, 'Oh, it's fake.' But it's not about whether the guy wins or loses, it's about how he entertains you the whole time you're watching.

We really do have a lot of personality in WWE. You have to, to be in this job. You showcase a lot of personality.

Wrestling needs to be about the art form again. It needs to be about painting a picture and having a really good match.

The most important thing about being in wrestling is that you have to connect with the crowd, connect with the fans, and you either want them to love you, or to hate you. Either way, so long as they're reacting to what you're doing.

Professional wresting is like performance art. It truly is. You're taking the crowd on a ride, on an emotional roller coaster.

I always tell people this - when you start wrestling, don't forget that part you liked as a child. If you can keep a bit of that in your act, you can keep a bigger audience.

Everybody that's employed by 'WWE' - the biggest wrestling company in the world - should be good wrestlers able to tell good stories.

As you evolve, you learn that wrestling is not necessarily about stunts or spots. You need to go out and show the audience that they can love you for the persona you are - not because of the risk you're willing to take or the jeopardy you're willing to put your body in.

So, there's plenty of good heels in the business. I don't see guys who can get fans to rally behind them like I do. It's hard. It's the hardest job in the business and I'm doing it every single night.

I love doing the in-ring promos more than doing the backstage promos because I love being able to interact with the crowd.

Once you learn how to work inside the ring - once you learn how to tell a story - then you can come to a big company like the WWE and learn the extra stuff, like the video, the pyro, the music, and that adds to everything you can do.

I wasn't in NXT for very long, but what I learned there was very valuable once I got onto the main roster - how to communicate to a larger audience, stuff like that.

That's what my specialty's always been in the wrestling business - going out there and making my opponent look better than he can make himself look.

I remember feeling the energy of people. That stuck with me. Understanding that I could stand behind a mic and captivate people. I was always obsessed with that.

I've always liked being on the performance end of it. I've come up with different ideas, but as far as being a creative writer, I'm not sure about that. I've always liked the performance end of it and wrestling, getting in the ring in front of a live crowd.

To be a true star, you need to find that balance in between shining the light on the professional wrestling aspect, of being the absolute best in the ring, but also being the best character and finding that balance in between them.

Who can deny that it was a pleasure to watch Rob Van Dam interact with the audience and tear the house down for 30 minutes a night.

I study entertainment and apply it to myself to one day become the greatest WWE superstar we have, and it's a lot of work. So I write jokes and material every day... you have to keep people's attention, one way or another.