Matt Riddle

“I get more respect doing professional wrestling than I ever did in MMA.”

“I love fighting, but I don't miss waiting months upon months just to fight once in front of people and then have to wait months again to fight once in front of people.”

“My goal isn't just to make wrestling into a bigger show and make good money, but it's also to evolve pro wrestling to where I think it belongs.”

“The bottom line is, I've got a wife and three kids. I've got bills I have to pay.”

“With wrestling, I'm working all the time, I'm wrestling all the time, I'm performing all the time, and I'm making money all the time.”

“I have a huge amount of respect for Lesnar. You know, he's done everything since he came into it. He works hard. You don't look like Lesnar without working hard.”

“I'm happy wrestling.”

“Bill Goldberg can't wrestle.”

“In wrestling, sports entertainment, I get to fight in front of people; I get to wrestle in front of people; I get to entertain people sometimes four times a week - all around the country, all around the world.”

“I want more unpredictability. I want more realism. I think the fans would appreciate that, and that's what I've brought since day one.”

“When I was in the UFC, I would get tickets for a fight, and then what I would do is go in the crowds and watch the rest of the fights. A lot of times, I would end up taking pictures and signing people's books. I didn't care if I got any money or anything. I was just there enjoying my time and watching the fights.”

“Even when you're on top in the UFC, you only get paid a couple times a year.”

“I was probably one of the top three or four wrestlers in the world on the indies, just killing it. Nobody really saw me going to a bigger company because of my past and just how people view me.”

“My goal is to change NXT. It is to change every company I've ever been to, and I've changed every company.”

“I have a lot of options in professional wrestling.”

“I'm a shark, and I swam in a lot of different ponds, but I'm ready for the ocean.”

“If I do make WWE - because in my head, until it's official, it's not a thing - I think if they brought me in, it would be very short lived at NXT, and I'd be on main roster extremely quick.”

“Everybody in wrestling is usually a pretty nice guy, they're all just hard workers trying to get their opportunities.”

“I always had watched pro wrestling. I happened to be watching the WWE Network one day and started watching differently: I wasn't watching it as a fan, but instead I was watching it as something that I could possibly be a part of.”

“I'm a pretty nice guy.”