Matt Riddle has been making waves lately with a series of blunt and controversial interviews, and it has not gone unnoticed in the wrestling world. Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is the latest to weigh in, and his verdict on Riddle’s future is harsh. According to Booker, Riddle does not “respect the business enough” and has likely shut the door on ever reaching the top level of professional wrestling again.

Riddle’s name has been all over the headlines following his comments on CM Punk, AJ Lee, and his fallout with a UK promotion. On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T was asked about Riddle’s interviews and did not hold back. The NXT commentator explained that he never saw Riddle as a long-term main event player, pointing to his attitude and lack of respect for veterans as the main reason.

“I never had any beef with Matt Riddle or anything like that. But I did say I did not think this guy was going to make it, you know, in this business, I did not think he was going to make it to Heavyweight Championship, you know, you know, level, just because of certain things. I do not know… I just did not think Matt Riddle respected the business enough to make it to the next level. Because when you come in talking about how good somebody is in the ring, opposed to how much money somebody made in the business, and for the business, referring to Goldberg… You are totally on the wrong track. When you get heat with guys like Brock Lesnar, you are totally on the wrong track, it is not a good idea, and you just do not understand the business more than anything.”

Booker went further, saying that while it is common for wrestlers to burn bridges during their careers, Riddle has gone beyond that.

“You could be on a skyrocket trajectory, and boom, everything just blows up in your face, and you are working on the indies. All right, never again to make it back to the major leagues. And I do believe that Matt Riddle is going to be one of those guys that will never, ever make it to that high ever again, just because the guy just, I do not know, it is one thing burning bridges, but when you just blow up the damn bridge, that is another story, you know. I just do not think this guy did himself any favors over the weekend, speaking the way he is.”