As noted before, Matt Riddle recently failed a drug test and was sent to rehab by WWE. This was the reason why Riddle was given a storyline injury on the December 5th RAW show and was announced to be out of action for six weeks.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that it is currently not known if WWE recently made changes to their drug policy due to Riddle’s situation contradicts the known rules of this policy.
Meltzer reported that Riddle did not serve a 30 days suspension nor was it publicly announced that he had failed his first drug test, which goes against the known policy rules. Those spoken to reportedly had different reasons for why Riddle was pulled from television with several people stating his second drug test failure was the reason for his storyline injury. One person close to Riddle stated that the drug test failure was not the reason and instead Riddle needed time off to deal with the pressure of a current divorce situation. Others spoken to reportedly did not want to comment on Riddle’s situation.
In regards to Riddle’s rehab, Meltzer reported that WWE’s announcement of Riddle being out of action for six weeks is shorter than the known rules of a 60 days suspension and rehab for a second failed drug test.
Meltzer also reported that Riddle’s repeated issues out of the ring have been the reason why WWE has not pushed Riddle to a higher level as a potential top babyface star despite his current huge popularity with fans.