The former WWE star will challenge Japanese wrestling legend Satoshi Kojima for the MLW World Heavyweight Title in the main event on Jan. 11.
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — MLW Kings of Colosseum is this Saturday in North Richland Hills, and Matt Riddle says it’s a full circle moment for him, as he challenges Satoshi Kojima for the MLW World Heavyweight Title in the main event.
Riddle, a former WWE wrestler and UFC fighter who has performed worldwide, was in the first MLW World Heavyweight Title match since MLW restarted in 2018, but he lost to Shane Strickland. His second title shot, and a chance to right that wrong, comes this weekend in North Texas.
“Kojima’s great, strong, but at the same time, I think it’s my time to shine,” Riddle said. “That match is gonna be sick, I want that championship and it’s been way too long of a wait for me.”
The current champion, Kojima, is a Japanese wrestling legend who has held countless world titles in both Japan and the U.S., and main event stadium shows in front of tens of thousands of people. For the p ast year, he has had an iron grip on MLW’s top championship, defending it against all comers.
Known as “the strongest arm,” Kojima tends to finish people off with his lariat, a move where he whips his arm across the neck and chest of his opponent to knock them out.
“I don’t see how this match isn’t going to be a barnburner,” Riddle said. “I think there’s only one way this match goes down, and I think it’s just gonna be a very physical match.”
This show isn’t just a showcase for MLW talent, however, as it also features many luchadors from CMLL, which many consider to be the hottest lucha libre promotion in Mexico at this time. Multiple times per week, thousands of residents and tourists pack Arena Mexico in Mexico City to see the luchadors perform breathtaking athletic feats in the squared circle. Many of the top stars will enter the MLW ring in North Texas this weekend, including the biggest star in Mexico, Mistico, as well as Atlantis, Atlantis Jr. and Blue Panther.
“It’s nonstop action,” Riddle, who has worked many times in Mexico, said about lucha libre. “You got to be in the right place at the right time, because if you’re not, you’re gonna get hurt or somebody’s gonna get hurt… It’s a different pace. If you can work lucha style, you can probably work any other style in the sun and be OK, because it’s intense.”
Many MLW wrestlers have also traveled to Mexico to work on CMLL shows. Right now, Riddle says CMLL is the standard for Mexican wrestling. And he says he’s very interested in working for CMLL at some point this year.
“It’s just a matter of right time, right place,” Riddle said.
Another reason this is a full-circle moment for Riddle is because he considers DFW to be where he first broke out as a wrestler nearly nine years ago. Riddle worked his first Wrestlemania weekend in 2016 in Dallas, where he wrestled heavily praised matches with technical wrestlers Zack Sabre Jr. and Timothy Thatcher.
“That was my breakout weekend,” Riddle said. “I can’t wait to be back and get to do something very similar by winning the MLW Heavyweight Championship.”
Other wrestlers booked for the show include Japanese wrestlers KENTA and Minoru Suzuki and former WWE wrestler Donovan Dijak. Doors for the show open at 7 p.m. Saturday at Nytex Sports Center – Olympic Hall.
For tickets and more information, click here.