Matt Riddle’s Claim About Winning the WWE Royal Rumble Match Debunked

Matt Riddle has been making the rounds, telling anyone who’ll listen that he was once in line to win the Royal Rumble—but WWE sources say that’s complete fiction.

In multiple interviews, Riddle has claimed that WWE originally pitched him as the Rumble winner during his RK-Bro run, even saying he was supposed to eliminate Brock Lesnar in the process. According to Riddle, those plans changed when The Beast Incarnate “called the match” and decided he was taking the win instead.

“You know, it’s WWE, anything can happen at any time,” Riddle told Sportskeeda Wrestling. “There was, believe it or not, when Randy [Orton] and I were together, and they pitched it—that I would win the Rumble, have some back-and-forth, maybe get rid of Brock [Lesnar]. And then Brock came in and called the match and that wasn’t going to happen.”

Riddle also doubled down during a virtual signing, claiming that WWE producers didn’t challenge Lesnar’s supposed takeover:

“I was told at one point, yeah, I was gonna win the Royal Rumble and everything else… Then Brock came in, didn’t wanna do business with everybody, said he was winning, and then he won, and then none of the producers… nobody stood up to him, and they let him do it. I didn’t either.”

But here’s the thing—none of it is true. A WWE creative team member shut down Riddle’s version of events, telling Ringside News that he was never planned to win the Royal Rumble at any point.

“Riddle was never planned to win the Rumble,” the source stated.

So why is Riddle out here spinning this story? Is he misremembering, or just trying to boost his stock? Either way, WWE’s stance is crystal clear—The Original Bro was never getting his WrestleMania moment.

What do you think? Did Riddle truly believe he was going to win, or is he just hyping himself up? Drop your thoughts in the comments!