When it comes to pro wrestling, the first week of September 2025 will always be remembered as the one where Matt Riddle took center stage for yet another controversy. On Wednesday, a report accused Riddle of both no-showing a charity wrestling event held in the UK last weekend, and as well as failing to return the deposit they gave him. Riddle refuted some of that in a video statement later that day, then followed it with a profanity laced video where he took his anger out of fans and critics for believing negative things about him, most notably a sexual assault accusation made against Riddle during Speaking Out.
Those latter comments have cost Riddle at least one booking. PWInsider reports that SiouxperCon, a comic book convention held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has pulled from the convention in October.
“In light of recent public statements made by Matt Riddle regarding the topics of SA and DV, SiouxperCon has made the decision to cancel his appearance at this year’s convention,” the convention’s Facebook page said in a statement. “The statements that were made in no way represent our organization or event, and are not aligned with the mission, vision, and values of our organization.
“Fans that have purchased photo ops in advance for Matt Riddle will be automatically refunded this week to their original form of payment. SiouxperCon has always strived to be a safe and inclusive space and event for all to feel welcome, including those that have been affected by SA and DV. This is why we, along with New Sound Wrestling, will be donating 10% of the proceeds from all SiouxperMania tickets sold to The Compass Center to support the work they do in our community for survivors and victims.”
GWK Gives Their Side Of the Story
As this story continued to develop on Wednesday, one side that didn’t make any statements was Global Wrestling Kingdom, the promotion that had booked Riddle last weekend. That changed on Thursday, with GWK releasing a statement of their own through Facebook, revealing that Riddle had now paid them back his deposit, and that he had “given us his word” that he would reimburse the promotion for his expenses.
The statement also gave GWK’s side of the story, stating that Riddle raised no issues with his flight and accommodations when they booked him through his manager in April, contradicting Riddle’s remarks from yesterday. GWK also claimed they attempted to arrange seminars for Riddle to lead, only for his manager to ask if they could book him for an event in Paris that Saturday instead. According to GWK, that arrangement fell apart when the Paris promotion refused to work with Riddle, and their attempts to get him booked elsewhere also failed.
GWK then claimed that they attempted to get Riddle to cut a promo for the event for months, only getting him to do so days before. Despite Riddle’s claims yesterday, the promotion states he never discussed other bookings he had in the US that week, raised no issues regarding his transportation or accommodations, and in fact never responded to them reaching out regarding his flight or his driver picking him up at the airport.
Only on Friday night did GWK hear back from Riddle, where he allegedly expressed dissatisfaction with his flight and revealed he was taking other bookings. The promotion claims they attempted to persuade Riddle to take another flight to make the show, even reminding him it was a charity event, but received no response from him until Wednesday, after the story had blown up.
