Pro wrestling has always lived in a delightful gray area between high art and a traveling circus, but the collective defense of Matt Riddle’s recent indie excursion takes the cake.
Over the weekend, a video made the rounds showing former WWE star Matt Riddle working a street-style match in the middle of a downtown parking lot for Appalachian Championship Wrestling against Josh Bishop.
Naturally, the internet had opinions, with some fans viewing it as a career nosedive. Enter Matt Cardona and Karl Anderson to cape up for the dying Independent ecosystem.
The TKO “Indie God”
Cardona jumped in with the classic gatekeeping defense: “I’ve wrestled in worse places. It’s independent wrestling. Aren’t you supposed to be an educated fan?”
Easy there, “Indie God”, getting paid by TKO and traveling to Saudi Arabia, whenever you and your “wife” are told….after working and putting over Wrestling Atomic, which recently went out business, due to so much human filth.
Nobody is saying people haven't wrestled in worse places; we're just saying it's a f-n parking lot, Broski.
Then Karl Anderson Took it to the Stratosphere.
Not only did he praise the "safe chair shots," but he closed out his grand analysis with this absolute gem: “Both got their fee, along with merch sold at all times. Pro wrestling is thriving World Wide.”
Look, get your bag. Sell your shirts. Hustle the date. There’s zero shame in making a living on the independent circuit.
But let's not pretend a couple of veterans brawling near a row of Honda Civics is definitive proof that "pro wrestling is thriving worldwide".
Nobody is hating on the grind. Just don't try to flex the curb appeal like it’s Madison Square Garden.
Wrestling is ridiculous, which is why we love it—we just don't need a PowerPoint presentation explaining why pacing around a parking spot is high culture.
