I've never seen a Matt Riddle match. I've heard a lot about Riddle before and since his NXT appearance at TakeOver Brooklyn this year. Now, I'm ready to find out more about the man many on the Internet are claiming will be a huge star in WWE. So, why not check out a match in which he faces a New Japan legend and fellow legitimate bad ass, Minoru Suzuki?! My thoughts exactly. On this edition of UnWrest Focus Rewind, we go back to November 2017 and do a little scouting on the newest big signing of WWE/NXT, Matt Riddle.
If you want to follow along, click on the link below....
Matt Riddle vs. Minoru Suzuki 11/10/17
Rev Pro/NJPW Global Wars (11/10/17)
Minoru Suzuki (w/ El Desperado) vs. Matt Riddle
That familiar theme of "Kaze Ni Nare" plays as Minoru Suzuki enters the ring. This entrance is among the greatest in wrestling today in my opinion. Suzuki just breathes torture as he walks to the ring intent on destroying whatever poor soul dares step in his way. He plays up the crowd, demanding respect as he enters the ring. But once that bell rings, or a lot of times beforehand, Suzuki jumps on the opponent and goes to work.
Here comes Matt Riddle, bro. (That's about all I know about him. He used to work in UFC. He was a major Indy wrestler, and he says bro a lot. Well, so does Vince Russo, but I have a feeling Riddle is a lot more competent in the ring. Oh, and I'm pretty sure RVD and Matt Riddle have the same favorite "number and holiday" if you get what I mean.)
Riddle and Suzuki get into each other's faces. Riddle pushes Suzuki. IS HE NUTS?! The referee checks on both men. The bell rings.
We're in England. The fans are singing. I tell you: England must be like Disney World. They're always singing. Lol. Riddle goes for the leg, but Suzuki gets to the ropes. Riddle is smiling as he goes behind Suzuki. But Suzuki gets Riddle on the mat. Riddle goes for an arm bar. Suzuki gets out and goes after Riddle, who gets to the rope. Riddle gets in Suzuki's face. Kicks to the leg by both men miss. They are trading blows. Both men trying to get an advantage, and Suzuki backs up into the ropes. Riddle pats Suzuki on the chest. Suzuki motions to Riddle to give him his best shot. BIG CHOP! Riddle says "Your Turn." BIG CHOP TO RIDDLE! Suzuki asks for another one. ANOTHER CHOP! Suzuki laughs it off and hits Riddle with ANOTHER CHOP. They are exchanging chops and blows back and forth now. Riddle gets the advantage with multiple forearm strikes and headbutts. Suzuki is in trouble and goes on the ropes.
HE SUCKERED HIM IN! ARMBAR USING THE ROPES! Suzuki flips to the floor and pulls Riddle outside. Knees to the midsection. Suzuki throws Riddle into the rows of chairs at ringside. While Suzuki distracts the referee, El Desperado attacks Riddle. Suzuki comes back over to attack Riddle. You can hear Suzuki YELLING at the audience in this small building to move as he throws Riddle into the front row. Stomps by Suzuki followed by a choke with something. And again, Suzuki distracts the referee while Desperado does the dirty work behind his back.
Suzuki goes back in the ring and Desperado throws Riddle back in. Suzuki tells a fan in the audience that they're number one and hooks in a deep Hammerlock. He lets go to again talk to the crowd. Meanwhile Riddle unloads a BIG CHOP on Suzuki who NO SELLS it. Suzuki continues to stomp Riddle. Riddle unloads with shots to Suzuki, spins around to avoid a strike from Suzuki, and nails him with a spinning back kick. Riddle with running forearms into the corner to Suzuki. He hits 3 of them. Exploder suplex to Suzuki. Big senton splash gets a 2 count.
Knee to the midsection by Riddle. Kick to the back now. Another senton splash by Riddle. He deadlifts Suzuki into a gutwrench suplex. And he rolls into another one. Wow. 2 count. (Good so far.) He goes for another senton splash, but Suzuki catches him with knees and locks in the armbar. Riddle gets out by rolling up Suzuki for a 2 count. Overhand strike to the face by Suzuki. Suzuki attacks Riddle in the corner. BIG CHOP. Running boot into the corner on Riddle. PK Kick for a 2 count by Suzuki.
Riddle is on his knees asking Suzuki to deliver more strikes. Big chops by Riddle. Suzuki answers with more of his own. We're back to this insane trading of punishment. Both men exchanging chops and forearms! They are getting exhausted now. BIG SLAP by Suzuki. Riddle gets caught in the Rear Naked Choke. Riddle gets to the ropes. But Suzuki kicks the arms and reapplies the hold. He goes for the piledriver, but Riddle hits a version of the Go To Sleep to Suzuki's mouth! German Suplex with a Bridge gets a 2 count. Riddle gets an armbar on Suzuki now. Suzuki rolls over and gets the rope.
Riddle targets the arm. Suzuki tells him to bring it! Kicks and strikes to the arm of Suzuki, but Suzuki starts to fire back. Riddle fires back with some shots to Suzuki's face and back to the kicks on Suzuki's arm. The referee backs him up. He goes to attack Suzuki, but the referee gets in the way of a forearm by Riddle. Uh-oh. El Desperado goes into the ring to attack Riddle. Riddle fights him off. Suzuki and Riddle go back at it with big chops and strikes. A kick to the head by Riddle, but Suzuki goes around Riddle and locks in the Rear Naked Choke. El Desperado hits Riddle with a chair shot. Suzuki gets Riddle up and nails the GOTCH STYLE PILEDRIVER. 1-2-3.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki
Match Grade: B-. This was a hard hitting match between the two. I was impressed by Riddle's facial mannerisms during the match. He has a lot of charisma for sure based off of what I've seen from this one match. One thing I think is something he can improve on is his selling. I didn't see much selling of the punishment Suzuki was dishing on the outside. Other than that, I think his style of offense will be a success in NXT and WWE because it is different than most of the other wrestlers we see on those shows. Riddle can mix this character and this style with a little more selling to create a better presentation for WWE audiences. As for Minoru Suzuki, this was a typical match for him in a good way. He knows what works for audiences. The audience wants a more MMA/Strong Style match from Suzuki with the usual ingredients of brawling and cheating involved. He's still got several years left in him in my opinion even in his 50s.
Anyone have any other Matt Riddle matches to watch before he debuts in a few weeks on NXT TV? Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @cdub1898.
Until next time, take care of yourselves, spread some awesomeness, and KAZE NI NARE!
If you want to follow along, click on the link below....
Matt Riddle vs. Minoru Suzuki 11/10/17
Rev Pro/NJPW Global Wars (11/10/17)
Minoru Suzuki (w/ El Desperado) vs. Matt Riddle
That familiar theme of "Kaze Ni Nare" plays as Minoru Suzuki enters the ring. This entrance is among the greatest in wrestling today in my opinion. Suzuki just breathes torture as he walks to the ring intent on destroying whatever poor soul dares step in his way. He plays up the crowd, demanding respect as he enters the ring. But once that bell rings, or a lot of times beforehand, Suzuki jumps on the opponent and goes to work.
Here comes Matt Riddle, bro. (That's about all I know about him. He used to work in UFC. He was a major Indy wrestler, and he says bro a lot. Well, so does Vince Russo, but I have a feeling Riddle is a lot more competent in the ring. Oh, and I'm pretty sure RVD and Matt Riddle have the same favorite "number and holiday" if you get what I mean.)
Riddle and Suzuki get into each other's faces. Riddle pushes Suzuki. IS HE NUTS?! The referee checks on both men. The bell rings.
We're in England. The fans are singing. I tell you: England must be like Disney World. They're always singing. Lol. Riddle goes for the leg, but Suzuki gets to the ropes. Riddle is smiling as he goes behind Suzuki. But Suzuki gets Riddle on the mat. Riddle goes for an arm bar. Suzuki gets out and goes after Riddle, who gets to the rope. Riddle gets in Suzuki's face. Kicks to the leg by both men miss. They are trading blows. Both men trying to get an advantage, and Suzuki backs up into the ropes. Riddle pats Suzuki on the chest. Suzuki motions to Riddle to give him his best shot. BIG CHOP! Riddle says "Your Turn." BIG CHOP TO RIDDLE! Suzuki asks for another one. ANOTHER CHOP! Suzuki laughs it off and hits Riddle with ANOTHER CHOP. They are exchanging chops and blows back and forth now. Riddle gets the advantage with multiple forearm strikes and headbutts. Suzuki is in trouble and goes on the ropes.
HE SUCKERED HIM IN! ARMBAR USING THE ROPES! Suzuki flips to the floor and pulls Riddle outside. Knees to the midsection. Suzuki throws Riddle into the rows of chairs at ringside. While Suzuki distracts the referee, El Desperado attacks Riddle. Suzuki comes back over to attack Riddle. You can hear Suzuki YELLING at the audience in this small building to move as he throws Riddle into the front row. Stomps by Suzuki followed by a choke with something. And again, Suzuki distracts the referee while Desperado does the dirty work behind his back.
Suzuki goes back in the ring and Desperado throws Riddle back in. Suzuki tells a fan in the audience that they're number one and hooks in a deep Hammerlock. He lets go to again talk to the crowd. Meanwhile Riddle unloads a BIG CHOP on Suzuki who NO SELLS it. Suzuki continues to stomp Riddle. Riddle unloads with shots to Suzuki, spins around to avoid a strike from Suzuki, and nails him with a spinning back kick. Riddle with running forearms into the corner to Suzuki. He hits 3 of them. Exploder suplex to Suzuki. Big senton splash gets a 2 count.
Knee to the midsection by Riddle. Kick to the back now. Another senton splash by Riddle. He deadlifts Suzuki into a gutwrench suplex. And he rolls into another one. Wow. 2 count. (Good so far.) He goes for another senton splash, but Suzuki catches him with knees and locks in the armbar. Riddle gets out by rolling up Suzuki for a 2 count. Overhand strike to the face by Suzuki. Suzuki attacks Riddle in the corner. BIG CHOP. Running boot into the corner on Riddle. PK Kick for a 2 count by Suzuki.
Riddle is on his knees asking Suzuki to deliver more strikes. Big chops by Riddle. Suzuki answers with more of his own. We're back to this insane trading of punishment. Both men exchanging chops and forearms! They are getting exhausted now. BIG SLAP by Suzuki. Riddle gets caught in the Rear Naked Choke. Riddle gets to the ropes. But Suzuki kicks the arms and reapplies the hold. He goes for the piledriver, but Riddle hits a version of the Go To Sleep to Suzuki's mouth! German Suplex with a Bridge gets a 2 count. Riddle gets an armbar on Suzuki now. Suzuki rolls over and gets the rope.
Riddle targets the arm. Suzuki tells him to bring it! Kicks and strikes to the arm of Suzuki, but Suzuki starts to fire back. Riddle fires back with some shots to Suzuki's face and back to the kicks on Suzuki's arm. The referee backs him up. He goes to attack Suzuki, but the referee gets in the way of a forearm by Riddle. Uh-oh. El Desperado goes into the ring to attack Riddle. Riddle fights him off. Suzuki and Riddle go back at it with big chops and strikes. A kick to the head by Riddle, but Suzuki goes around Riddle and locks in the Rear Naked Choke. El Desperado hits Riddle with a chair shot. Suzuki gets Riddle up and nails the GOTCH STYLE PILEDRIVER. 1-2-3.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki
Match Grade: B-. This was a hard hitting match between the two. I was impressed by Riddle's facial mannerisms during the match. He has a lot of charisma for sure based off of what I've seen from this one match. One thing I think is something he can improve on is his selling. I didn't see much selling of the punishment Suzuki was dishing on the outside. Other than that, I think his style of offense will be a success in NXT and WWE because it is different than most of the other wrestlers we see on those shows. Riddle can mix this character and this style with a little more selling to create a better presentation for WWE audiences. As for Minoru Suzuki, this was a typical match for him in a good way. He knows what works for audiences. The audience wants a more MMA/Strong Style match from Suzuki with the usual ingredients of brawling and cheating involved. He's still got several years left in him in my opinion even in his 50s.
Anyone have any other Matt Riddle matches to watch before he debuts in a few weeks on NXT TV? Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @cdub1898.
Until next time, take care of yourselves, spread some awesomeness, and KAZE NI NARE!
Comments
Post a Comment