Throughout the past few years, if you were to poll fans on who the top star on the independent wrestling circuit is presently, chances are the answer you'll receive is former UFC fighter Matt Riddle. Banned from the UFC for marijuana use, Riddle started a pro wrestling journey and took to the business probably quicker than anyone since Kurt Angle. Now, it may be time for Riddle to star in the big time. 

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Is Matt Riddle on his way to WWE?

Over the weekend, rumors began to make the internet rounds that Riddle, the reigning Evolve heavyweight champion, is set to sign with WWE, likely to debut for the NXT brand at the upcoming TakeOver: Brooklyn event. At the time, they were nothing more than whispers, but recently, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. 

Monday afternoon, PW Insider ran a report stating that Riddle has indeed drawn a lot of renewed interest from WWE, which had reportedly shied away from the former UFC competitor in the past due to his being an outspoken advocate of marijuana use. Later in the evening, more signs started pouring in relating to Riddle potentially heading to WWE. 

PWG announced, as Raw was airing live, that Riddle had pulled out of the famed Battle of Los Angeles tournament set to take place this September. Then, Game Changer Wrestling hinted at a potential Riddle departure from the independents by plugging his scheduled match against PCO set to take place on the Joey Janela's Lost in New York show this coming Aug. 17; yes, that is one night prior to NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. Finally, it what may have been the biggest wink-wink provided, Evolve booker and Paul Heyman protege Gabe Sapolsky sent out a tweet simply listing Riddle's upcoming dates this summer for the promotion. 

Rumors blanket the pro wrestling world on a daily basis, but it doesn't take long here to connect the dots and draw the conclusion that Riddle seems bound for WWE shortly. And if you ask a lot of people, that means he's destined to become one of the company's biggest draws in no time. 

More WWE news, rumors

  • WWE made the blockbuster announcement on Monday during Raw that the all-women's PPV "Evolution" will go down Oct. 28 at the Nassau Coliseum. Now, while that announcement was anticipated throughout the weekend, fans were also led to believe that a revival of the women's tag team championship could be on deck as well. Unfortunately, Stephanie McMahon cooled those talks down a bit. During an interview with Sky Sports, the on-screen Raw commissioner admitted that the company is "not quite yet" ready to bring women's tag titles in the fold but added that the possibility is still there for the future. 
  • A third match has been added to the "All In" independent super show being presented by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks on Sept. 1 in Chicago. At the conclusion of this week's "Being The Elite," the trio revealed that Bullet Club member Hangman Page will battle indie sensation Joey Janela. This grows the card that already consists of Marty Scurll taking on Kazuchika Okada, as well as an NWA title defense by champion Nick Aldis against an opponent still to be made official. 
  • On Tuesday night's edition of SmackDown Live, we are likely to find out who will be challenging AJ Styles at SummerSlam for the WWE championship. We'll also see if we can find out why Randy Orton has returned to brutally attack Jeff Hardy; Becky Lynch will look to earn a women's title shot at SummerSlam if she can defeat reigning champion Carmella; the tournament to determine who will take on the Bludgeon Brothers in Brooklyn kicks off with The New Day facing SAnitY; and we'll see just how much more heated the rivalry can get between Daniel Bryan and The Miz after what transpired last week during the Team Hell No eulogy.