Former US Champ reveals Otis ban WWE imposed on him
Otis has been one of the top big men in WWE since arriving on the main roster in 2019. In a recent interview, Matt Riddle revealed he was not allowed to pick up the Alpha Academy member during matches.
Riddle worked for WWE between 2018 and 2023. In 2021 and 2022, the former United States Champion shared the ring with Otis several times. They also crossed paths at WrestleMania 38, where Riddle & Randy Orton defeated Chad Gable & Otis and Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford.
During an appearance on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, Riddle said he was banned from performing power moves on the 330-pound star:
"NXT is a little freer in the sense of even a guy like me, if I'm strong enough to do something, I can do it. Well, when I got up to the main roster, I was kinda, I wouldn't say held back in a way, but if I'm wrestling Otis, even though I can pick Otis up and do moves to him, they're like, 'You're not picking up Otis. He's a big guy.'" [50:22 – 50:43]
The two men faced each other three times in televised singles matches, with Otis winning once and Riddle winning twice.
Matt Riddle's reaction to WWE's ban
Although Matt Riddle was capable of picking up Otis, WWE's higher-ups did not want the audience to think the RAW star could easily be thrown around.
Riddle added that some wrestlers dislike detailed instructions about what they can and cannot do in matches. In this case, he had no problem with the ban and understood the logic behind it.
"[Otis ban] makes sense, especially when you look at WWE's audience and you're catering to the world and everything else," Riddle continued. "It makes more sense. It does. I know some people don't like it, but it makes sense and, trust me, it works. Look at where they are. They know what they're doing." [50:44 – 51:00]
In the same interview, Riddle addressed whether he and Randy Orton could reform the popular RK-Bro tag team one day.
Please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
