Back in January, reports of a backstage altercation between Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle emerged. 

It was alleged that The Beast confronted his colleague at the Royal Rumble, taking exception to Riddle's calls for a match and the opportunity to retire him.  

It seems those reports were accurate and last week, ahead of his SmackDown debut and main roster WWE call up, 'The Original Bro' revealed exactly what happened that night.  

"Eventually, I find out I’m going to be in the Rumble. Now I’m stoked!" Riddle said, recalling the event in January during an interview with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT.

"I’m like 'what if I get my chance!' [with Brock Lesnar]. I don’t even know if I should say his name.

"Then, of course, [Paul] Heyman and his security guard - I won’t mention his name - him and his security guard come up to me and basically told me I had no chance in hell.

"It was very Vince McMahon like - no chance in hell that I was going to get that match with him and I’d have better luck doing something else.

Riddle then revealed that things got a little physical backstage, with Heyman and Lesnar 'holding him' while explaining there would be no chance of a match.  

Lesnar and Heyman said the match will never happen

"I’ll be honest, at first, I was just like 'awww I got this far and you’re literally holding me like this,'" he continued.

"He’s holding me like we’re friends but we’re not. And then he [Lesnar] tells me it's never going to happen."

Despite being told no, Riddle explained that he wasn't 'mad' - just 'heartbroken' and still hopes a programme will happen in future. 

"So, I wasn’t mad, I wasn’t sad, I was more just heartbroken. 

Riddle was left heartbroken by the altercation

"But it’s like when a girl turns you down on a date... hey, it doesn’t mean give up completely. It’s like OK, let’s go back to the drawing board, maybe I came on a little too strong this time.

"Maybe I’ll try something different to convince him, ya know? So that’s how that scenario played out."

So, could we see Riddle vs Lesnar one day? It's not out of the question. 

Riddle still wants a match with Lesnar

The SmackDown star's stock has risen significantly in the last few months and McMahon's decision to call him up suggests WWE do trust him. 

Whether Lesnar will be convinced to fight though, is another issue.