WWE NXT Tag Team Were Pulled From TV Because Of Matt Riddle's Main Roster Call-Up

On last week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Kurt Angle announced Matt Riddle would be joining the blue brand and making his in-ring debut very soon. The King Of Bros was written off NXT earlier in the week as he lost to Timothy Thatcher in a Fight Pit match.

Earlier reports noted that WWE planned to call Riddle up ahead of WrestleMania 36 but changed their minds because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Fightful Select revealed additional details about the former UFC fighter's main roster call-up yesterday. They reported that WWE was originally happy to wait until Pete Dunne was able to travel to the United States, and the plan was to have Riddle feud with Indus Sher in the meantime.  This is why Riddle was attacked by Rinku and Saurav on the March 25 edition of NXT.

Vince ultimately changed his mind, however, and decided to move Riddle to the main roster, which meant The King Of Bros would have to drop the NXT Tag Team Championships without The Bruiserweight. NXT management didn't think Indus Sher were ready to be champions, and they were subsequently pulled from NXT TV. The report also noted that Performance Center head coach Matt Bloom disagreed with this decision as he believes Malcolm Bivens' tag team has a "high upside."

McMahon's decision ultimately led to Timothy Thatcher's introduction as Riddle's interim tag team partner, and a short rivalry between the two Superstars after they dropped the titles to Imperium.