Matt Riddles ongoing feud with CM Punk just hit another level of awkward. Weeks after WWE Hall of Famer Booker T torched him for disrespecting the business and blowing up the damn bridge with WWE, Riddle returned to TMZ Inside The Ring to downplay the controversyand specifically the heat he caught for dragging Punks wife, AJ Lee, into the fight.
The host Brandon pointed out that of all the wild things Riddle said, it was his offhand remarks about AJ Lees past that drew the most backlash. When asked to address it, Riddle tried brushing it off with sarcasm.
Brandon quickly interrupted to clarify that fans were more upset about his AJ Lee comments than anything he said about Punk. That led Riddle into a half-hearted explanation that didnt exactly make things better.
Riddle insisted he wasnt being maliciousjust reacting to what he claimed was wrestling lore.
Then Brandon brought up AJ Lees WWE storyline historykissing Kane, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler on-screenwhich Riddle immediately jumped on with a mocking tone.
He capped the segment off by joking about his own track record, holding up a hand gesture and adding:
While Riddle tried to spin the controversy as harmless locker-room humor, the reaction online suggests otherwise. Critics argue that implying AJ Lees past storylines define her legacyand joking about them while taking shots at her husbandcrossed a line.
Even Riddle acknowledged later in the interview that some of the backlash he receives is his own fault, but he doubled down that nothing he said came from a place of real disrespect.
Still, dragging a female wrestler into a feud with her husbandespecially with off-the-cuff remarks that stir up old narrativesmight not be something fans (or locker rooms) are quick to forgive.
Do you think Matt Riddle went too far by bringing AJ Lee into the mix? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
