During a recent appearance on the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast, former WWE star Matt Riddle shared a behind-the-scenes story from the 2022 Royal Rumble match, involving Brock Lesnar and Shane McMahon.
Riddle explained that at one point, there had been creative discussions about him potentially winning that year’s Rumble before plans shifted.
Reflecting on the night, he described the moment Lesnar entered the locker room after competing against Bobby Lashley earlier in the evening, a match that Lesnar lost before later going on to win the Rumble itself. “He came in as the artist, did business for Bobby Lashley,” Riddle recalled. “Then he was like, ‘You guys are all going to do business for me.’”
According to Riddle, it was then that Shane McMahon approached Lesnar with a pitch for a spot during the match. “Shane mentioned and asked if he could pick him up for a spot,” Riddle said. “And Brock just looked down… like, no.”
Riddle noted that the blunt rejection caught the other wrestlers off guard. He then joked about his own ability to execute such a move, despite never attempting it in that scenario. “We were all like, what are you thinking, dude? I can actually pick Brock up, but I’m not going to. I can pick anybody up, bro. I’ve German suplexed Keith Lee — he’s like 350, bro.”
The full interview, where Riddle discusses more stories from his WWE career, is available below.
