Matt Riddle Says This AEW Star Is 'One Of The Best'

Former WWE star Matt Riddle has praised a current AEW star, whom he has faced a few times in the past, calling him one of the best in the ring.

AEW, in its six-year run, has built up a strong roster and elevated several stars to main event status, one of whom is former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland. Riddle recently spoke to "SHAK Wrestling" about Strickland's ability in the ring, boldly stating that the former WWE star is one of the best of his generation.

"Swerve is one of the best guys I've wrestled probably in my life. Don't get me wrong, there's other guys on that list, like Roman's really good, Randy's extremely good, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, but Swerve ... I'll say this, there's different generations and Swerve is very talented and he's of that new generation of top tier wrestlers that are not only strong enough, big enough, but can actually go and go at a certain clip," said Riddle. "Swerve's cool, he's good; I can't say enough good things about him, for sure."

Riddle and Strickland have history as the two battled it out a few times in 2017 and 2018, in promotions like MLW and EVOLVE. The AEW star even claimed that his match against the former UFC star in MLW in 2018 was one of the most important matches of his pro wrestling career, asserting how it made him look like a fighter. He acknowledged Riddle's role in the fight and even thanked him for squaring up against him in MLW.

The MLW match was for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship, which Strickland won, and the duo stepped into the ring again a few months later, where Strickland once more got the better of Riddle, this time winning the Evolve Championship. The two, though, never got to wrestle each other in WWE despite being in the company together for a few years.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "SHAK Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.