Matt Duffield
Matt Duffield, also known as Matt Riviera, is an American politician and retired professional wrestler. He is formerly one half of the NWA World Tag Team Champions with Rob Conway as the tag team The Iron Empire. He also has promoted wrestling events. In addition to the wrestling business, he has also appeared in movies and television shows. He currently serves as a Republican member for the 53rd district of the Arkansas House of Representatives.
Early life
Matt Riviera was born on May 18, 1983, in Russellville, Arkansas. At the age of 12 after coming across a television program, WCW Worldwide, Matt began his love for professional wrestling after watching Dick Slater wrestle. Pro wrestling's blend of physicality and theatrics appealed to him and he soon became passionate about professional wrestling. After being told at the age of 15 that he was too young to legally being training as a professional wrestler, Riviera began doing everything he could to get his foot in the door of the wrestling business such as creating wrestling programs. This included writing articles and taking photographs. He also began his first foray into promoting professional wrestling events at the age of 17 after meeting his mentor, wrestling trainer and promoter Bill Ash. He began promoting wrestling events under the name of Global Pro Wrestling. Once he finally began to train to become a Professional wrestler, he discovered that the physicality it takes to be a pro wrestler might be too much for him. He quit wrestling school on three occasions. However, at age 21, Riviera stuck with wrestling as he trained for six months as well as attended wrestling school for four months. Matt Riviera also obtained a college degree in broadcast journalism, graduating from Harding University out of Searcy, Arkansas in 2006.Professional wrestling career
Matt Riviera had his first professional wrestling match in 2001 for the Arkansas Association of Wrestling by teaming with Running Wolf to take on the team of Frank Thornton and "Big" Wes Jones. Matt would go on to wrestle for various promotions throughout Arkansas and expanded to many other states and promotions. While wrestling, he was still involved in promoting wrestling events, as well as beginning college. Riviera promoted Global Pro Wrestling, which after a name change, became Traditional Championship Wrestling. Traditional Championship Wrestling was able to secure a national cable deal in 2013 with Cox Sports Television that would allow people all over the country to see Riviera and other TCW stars perform weekly. After TCW folded in 2014, Matt would then move on to focus more on his own in-ring career.In 2005, Matt Riviera won his first professional wrestling championship while competing for Arkansas Wrestling Entertainment by winning the AWE International Heavyweight Championship. He won this title by winning a tournament, last defeating Frank Thornton.
In 2009, Matt Riviera further solidified his status as one of Arkansas' premier athletes when he won the Pro Wrestling Arkansas Heavyweight Championship. He would also go on to win the PWA Tag Team Championship the same year, with his partner Johnny Morton.
TCW is the promotion where Matt Riviera has wrestled, as well as promoted. Started as Global Pro Wrestling, it was renamed as Traditional Championship Wrestling in 2009. As a promoter, Riviera took a local wrestling show and expanded it to an hour long show that was available to watch throughout the United States. As a wrestler, Riviera has won the TCW Heavyweight Championship as well as multiple tag team championships with various partners such as Jeff Jett, as Reckage & Romance; with Tim Storm as the Natural State Connection; with Greg Anthony as The Empire; and with Jerry Lawler. However, as TCW folded, Riviera began to focus more on his in-ring career and less on promoting.
National Wrestling Alliance
Championship success
Matt Riviera has wrestled in multiple National Wrestling Alliance promotions including NWA Mid South, NWA IHWE-Texas, NWA Lonestar, and NWA Universal. While wrestling for these NWA promotions, Riviera has also won several regional championships such as the IHWE Heavyweight championship, NWA Lonestar Tag Team championships with partner Greg Anthony, and twice holding the Western States Heritage title. He is also the current NWA Mid South Unified champion, a championship that was unified with the TCW Heavyweight title when Traditional Championship Wrestling folded in 2014.The Iron Empire
In 2015, Matt Riviera decided to team up with former WWE star as well as 2 time National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion Rob Conway. The two would become known as "The Iron Empire" after Rob's moniker, "The Ironman" and The Empire, a stable of wrestlers led by Matt Riviera. On December 4, 2015, The Iron Empire captured the coveted NWA World Tag Team Championships from The Heatseakers at an NWA Mid South event in Robinsonville, Mississippi. The team would go on to face the top teams in the NWA.Matt Riviera debuted for Diamond Stars Wrestling on September 25. In the main event, he along with Iron Empire tag team partner Rob Conway, successfully defended the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a two out of three falls match against Rob Terry and Masakatsu Funaki. In the first fall, Conway pinned Funaki under a mask after hitting The Erotic City. In the second fall, Conway submitted to Funaki via a rear naked choke. In the third fall, Riviera was disqualified after hitting Terry with a chair.
The Iron Empire lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Kazushi Miyamoto and Rob Terry in Tokyo, Japan on February 23, 2017.
Feud With Jerry "The King" Lawler
On September 16, 2017, at CWA WrestleRaise III in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Matt Riviera interfered in the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title match between NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion, Tim Storm and Jerry Lawler, subduing Lawler with an ether rag, and allowing Storm to pin Lawler to retain the title.Matt Riviera and Jerry Lawler would face off in a match on May 17, 2018, at CWA WrestleRaise V in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with the stipulation that if Lawler lost, he would kiss Riviera's foot and if Riviera lost, Lawler would get 5 minutes in the ring with Riviera's manager, Boyd Bradford. Lawler's son, Brian "Christopher" Lawler would be in his corner. The match ended in DQ after Lawler shot a fireball in Riviera's face, causing Riviera to have to be rushed out of the arena before Lawler could kiss Riviera's foot.
Their next encounter would be at MSW: Legends of Wrestling on June 23, in Harrison, Arkansas. With referee James Beard down, Riviera would hit Lawler with an object and pin Lawler. After the bell, James Beard discovered the object & reversed the decision in favor of Lawler.
At a USA Championship Wrestling event in Jackson, Tennessee on July 7, Matt Riviera and Boyd Bradford would present "Superstar" Bill Dundee with a briefcase containing $100,000 if Dundee would agree to retire from wrestling. Dundee would accept the metal briefcase & then nail Riviera & Bradford with it before taking off with the money. On the July 14 episode of USA Championship Wrestling, Dundee would appear for an interview with the briefcase, before being confronted by Riviera. Jerry Lawler came to the aide of Dundee. Lawler and Dundee would attack Riviera before cutting Riviera's prized perm in the middle of the ring. This would lead to a televised match the next week on July 21 between Riviera and Lawler, which ended in a No Contest after interference from Dundee & "Dangerous" Doug Gilbert.
On January 5, 2019, at a USA Championship Wrestling event in Jackson, Tennessee, during a match between Lawler and "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, with the referee down & Lawler covering Rich, Riviera slid in the ring wearing a referee shirt, counted to 2 & stopped. Riviera then attacked Lawler, rolled Rich on top of Lawler and made the 3 count.
Riviera and Lawler would next meet on February 16 at USA Championship Wrestling's Thunderdome event in Jackson, TN in a Thunderdome Cage Match. The match would see Jerry Lawler unintentionally throw a fireball into the face of one referee & Riviera pile drive another referee. "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, wearing a referee shirt attempted to take the key from outside official, Jerry Calhoun, before being stopped by "Dangerous" Doug Gilbert. Jerry Calhoun would eventually unlock the cage door & count the pin for Lawler.
On March 9 at USA Championship Wrestling's "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert Tribute Event in Jackson, Tennessee, a "Falls Count Anywhere in Madison County Match" took place, as Jerry Lawler and Doug Gilbert faced off against Matt Riviera & Tommy Rich. The match ended in a pinfall victory for Lawler & Gilbert after Gilbert pinned Tommy Rich.
On October 12 at CWA Lloyd's Rumble in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Matt Riviera would become the CWA's 1st Arkansas Heavyweight champion, winning the "Lloyd's Rumble Battle Royal" by last eliminating Tim Storm. Riviera had also picked up a victory in a match against Buff Bagwell, earlier in the evening, after Arn Anderson interfered in the match by delivering a Spinebuster to Bagwell, allowing Riviera to get the pin fall.
On January 18, 2020, at CWA No Surrender in North Little Rock, Arkansas, Matt Riviera put his newly won Arkansas Heavyweight Title on the line against Jerry Lawler's career in a "Title vs. Career Match". Lawler would pick up the pin fall victory after throwing a massive fireball in Riviera's face, making Lawler the new Arkansas Heavyweight champion.
At the Jerry Lawler 50th Anniversary Celebration at The Ballpark in Jackson, Tennessee on September 26, Jerry Lawler & The Rock N' Roll Express faced Matt Riviera, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, & "Dangerous" Doug Gilbert in a Thunderdome Cage Match. Lawler would pin Riviera for the victory after hitting Riviera with Jimmy Hart's megaphone. Musical icon Kid Rock and golfer John Daly were in attendance for the event.
Also during this period, Riviera was involved in angles & matches with Buff Bagwell, Bob Holly, Tony Atlas, & Tim Storm as well as various other wrestlers on the independent wrestling circuit.