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Matt Riddle has a couple of good reasons for wrestling barefoot inside the squared circle.
Major League Wrestling‘s Matt Riddle was a recent guest on Rasslin’. When asked about wrestling barefoot, Riddle said initially the price of wrestling boots put him off but also he found that it was easier for him to bump without them.
“When I first started, I wore wrestling shoes,” Matt Riddle said. “And I was gonna get boots, but then I looked at the price of wrestling boots, and I was like, that’s not for me. I think I can do something barefoot, and I started off even wearing wrestling shoes. But I noticed when I wore shoes, I wouldn’t take falls the right way.
“It’s also why I don’t wear knee pads or elbow pads. I would take bumps and falls certain ways, and I would land on my knees or my elbows or my heels would hit. So I noticed when I take all the padding off, I can’t really make any mistakes when I’m taking slams or falls, or executing moves. Also when I kick people and knee people, it adds a little more believability, because there’s no cushion for the push-in.”
Frostbite has left Riddle’s toes with no feeling
When it was brought up by the host that if they were wrestling he would just step on his toes, Riddle reveals that getting frostbite as a child has left him with no feeling in them.
“You know, funny story, the toes have no feeling,” Matt Riddle revealed. “I got frostbite on them when I was a child when I was visiting Wisconsin in the winter and I wore some Van sneakers and played outside all day, and then got some frostbite on the toes, and then I lost feeling on the skin surface.
“If I break my foot, I’ll feel it. But when I kick or slap or whatever, nothing. So stomping on the foot does nothing and I find the UFC where people stomped on my feet all the time. I got numb feet, but if we’re in a match, and that’s the story I’ll sell it.”
READ MORE: Matt Riddle’s Parents Thought He Was Too Delicate To Start Fighting In UFC
What do you make of Matt Riddle’s comments? Does this make more sense to you as to why he wrestles barefoot now? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit Rasslin’ with a link to this article for the transcription.
