Matt Riddle has identified finances as the sole reason for his absence from New Japan Pro Wrestling, citing what he called a “trash” economy in Japan. Speaking on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Riddle claimed the pay offered by the promotion was significantly lower than what he earns in the United States, leading to his decision not to return after his initial run in early 2024.
Riddle’s comments on his business decisions come as he navigates a public dispute with UK promotion Global Wrestling Kingdom over a no-show for a charity event in Barnsley, England on August 31. That situation involves conflicting claims over booking terms, travel arrangements, and promoter communication, with GWK confirming on September 4 that Riddle has returned his deposit.
Regarding his time in Japan, Riddle explained that while he loves the NJPW product and talent, the compensation was not viable.
“I hate to say this and people aren’t gonna like this. You know why I don’t wrestle in Japan? Because the economy is trash,” Riddle stated. “You know how much I get paid here in America? About 10 times what they wanna pay me everywhere else… New Japan, I love ‘em, I love their product, they have great talent, a great locker room. But, I got a feeling and you can see, same thing happened with Dolph (Nic Nemeth), they threw titles on us right away, and then they were kind of like, ‘Oh, can you work for this much?’ And I was like, ‘No. I can’t work for this much…’”
He detailed a specific instance that illustrated his point. After winning the NJPW World Television Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi, Riddle was asked to return for the New Japan Cup tournament. However, a scheduling conflict arose with a higher-paying independent booking.
“The second weekend, I would have went to Japan… but I was like, ‘Hey, I wanna fly back, because I’m wrestling Rob Van Dam,’ and let’s be real, if me, this guy, the King of Bros, basically Mr. 4/20 of the future, gets a match with RVD, I can’t pass it up,” Riddle said. “Plus, they paid me 10 grand for one day’s work. I can tell you this, New Japan never paid me that much. Not even close.”
Riddle, who held the NJPW title for a month before losing it to Zack Sabre Jr., acknowledged the value of working for the promotion but said it has its limits.
“Look, New Japan, there’s the rub. You get the rub. But at the same time, there’s only so much rub, you know what I’m saying? So I’m like, you have to make an executive decision sometimes and that’s what I did, and I like I said, I have no ill will towards other companies in the U.K. or towards New Japan or any other Japanese companies.“