“She’s extremely talented in the cage”- Riddle says that Former MMA fighter Valerie Loureda has got a promising future in WWE

“She’s extremely talented in the cage”- Riddle says that Former MMA fighter Valerie Loureda has got a promising future in WWE

Riddle and Valerie Loureda

Riddle has been one of the rising stars in WWE and has gained prominence over years since his debut. Before being a professional wrestler, Riddle has been a professional MMA fighter and is known for his time in the MMA promotion UFC. He wrestled around independent circuits and promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Evolve, World Wrestling Network (WWN), and Revolution Pro Wrestling. Riddle was signed to WWE in 2018 and made his debut on NXT Brand. He defeated Luke Menzies in his in-ring debut.

In 2020, Riddle entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic along with Pete Dunne as his tag team partner and defeated Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly in the finals to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. This was first Championship win for Riddle in WWE.  He had to choose Timothy Thatcher as his partner because Pete Dunne couldn’t be available due to Covid 19 pandemic. They lost their Championship to Imperium in May 2020 on an edition of NXT.

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Riddle has expressed his thoughts on his switch from MMA to professional wrestling

Riddle during his MMA days.
Riddle during his MMA days.

Riddle has stated that he had believed that his stature would make it difficult for him to compete in professional wrestling. He talked about how hefty, tall, and muscular wrestlers were in the early 2000s. He said that this insecurity prevented him from entering professional wrestling at a young age. He claimed that as he made his MMA debut and was enjoying a respectable career there, he realized that the world of professional wrestling had changed and that men of smaller stature were also succeeding in the business. Men like Daniel Bryan were defeating Triple H and Batista and becoming champions, he claimed.

Riddle discussed his opinions on Valerie Loureda’s signing in the same interview. He claimed Valerie is a highly skilled MMA fighter and has all the necessary abilities to be a professional wrestler. According to Riddle, Valerie will undoubtedly get better with time and effort. Nobody is naturally good right off the bat, he said, but Valerie can certainly punch, kick, and surrender.

“Now, she is extremely beautiful, she’s extremely talented in the cage. I think she kind of checks majority of the boxes, but until you get in front of a crowd and in front of a camera and on a mic, it’s different… Nobody’s a natural right off the bat, But I think she’s got a promising future. She looks amazing, she can work, she can move. I don’t know how she can wrestle, but she can definitely punch and kick and submit so, we’ll see, and only time will tell.”

Riddle will face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on July 30th at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee.

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