On the December 5 episode of WWE Raw, Matt Riddle was supposed to team up with Elias to take on Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos with the titles hanging in the balance. Before the match, Elias was taken out by The Bloodline, backstage. As a result, Kevin Owens became the replacement as he joined The Original Bro as the challengers of the title match.
The Usos retained the titles after which Bloodline member, Solo Sikoa went ballistic as he hit Matt Riddle with the Asiatic spike followed by the Samoan Bulldozer (hip attack) in the corner of the ring. These two moves made famous by the late great Umaga were performed on his 49th birthday. Besides, these also helped WWE to write the victim off TV for some time.
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The real reason behind Matt Riddle’s absence is that he has violated WWE’s wellness policy, again. The first failed drug test took place earlier this year when Vince McMahon was still running things in WWE. This was the apparent reason why the top Raw Superstar’s match against Seth Rollins was canceled at SummerSlam 2022 and got postponed to Clash at the Castle 2022.
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After this when Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Nick Khan took things over in the WWE, Matt Riddle was told that if he would fail another drug test then he would have to go to rehab or else his contract would be terminated. For those who don’t know, he was previously fired from UFC in 2013 after failing 2 drug tests in that year. He tested positive for marijuana but WWE doesn’t test for that substance and hence he might have taken something else.
According to the reports of Bodyslam.net, the former Raw tag team champion did fail his second drug test recently and was subsequently sent to rehab,
“The belief going around is that he has already entered treatment, or will be going in soon as most programs run for 30 days and he would need to be finished in time for his return in 6 weeks.”
According to what Cassidy Haynes has reported, it’s likely that Matt Riddle has either entered rehab or will start soon. In case, his treatment has begun then a six-week timeframe would make him return to TV within Royal Rumble premium live event. WWE could also hold back his return until the rumble match itself.