Matt Riddle Denies Claim He Intentionally No-Showed UK Charity Event

Matt Riddle recently came under fire after it was claimed he intentionally no-showed Global Wrestling Kingdom’s debut event and never returned the deposit either. Unsurprisingly, the King of Bros has now addressed missing the event and explained why he never made it there.

Matt Riddle took to his Instagram and uploaded a video, where he cleared the air after being accused of skipping Global Wrestling Kingdom’s first show A New Kingdom Rises on August 31 in Barnsley, England, and of not paying back his deposit.

Riddle explained that GWK booked him a flight for Thursday, even though the show wasn’t until Sunday. The company told him he would also have meet and greets, matches, and appearances, but none of those were scheduled.

That would have left him sitting in a hotel for two days with nothing to do. Riddle said he told them many times that he couldn’t do that because he already had work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. He offered to fly out Saturday night instead and said they could take the flight cost out of his pay, but GWK refused.

“GWK, the reason I didn’t go is because you booked me a flight for Thursday for a show that’s happening Sunday. And you said you were booking me meet and greets, other matches, and appearances. You did none of that. I had nothing scheduled. What, I was gonna sit in a hotel room for two days in London? I told you multiple times I can’t do that, I wouldn’t do that, and I had work on Friday, Saturday, even Thursday. And I told you I’d fly to London on Saturday evening. You said you’d pay for it, and I said, ‘No, take it out of my pay, whatever.’ You guys refused.”

Because of this, Riddle went to Miami and wrestled there instead. He said it’s not true that he refused to pay GWK back and also called it a lie that the show was meant to be a charity event, saying that was a last-minute change.

On top of that, he criticized the travel they booked for him, describing it as a bad flight with a middle seat, no meal, and no checked bag. He finished by saying that GWK might not last much longer.

“So I flew to Miami and wrestled there, alright? Also, I never said I wouldn’t pay you guys back. That’s a lie. And this show wasn’t a charity event. That’s another lie, a last-second change. You also booked me the worst flight in history, bro—middle seat, no meal, no bag. GWK, this is probably your last run.”

While GWK promoters accused Matt Riddle of being unreliable, he argued that the real problem came from poor planning, bad communication, and unprofessional travel arrangements. No matter which side fans believe, the situation has put a cloud over GWK’s debut event and taken attention away from the wrestling itself. So we’ll have to see if they’ll ever have another show after this.

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