“The LVR Boy” Matt Riviera has announced his retirement from professional wrestling. Riviera is closing the door on a decorated career that ran over 20 years. In recent years Riviera worked a years long feud with WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler. That feud ended on September 26th, 2020. The final match for “The LVR Boy” was a six-man tag bout that closed out the star studded “Jerry The King Lawler 50th Anniversary Celebration”. It took place at The Ballpark in Jackson, Tennessee.
A love of the business that ran deep
Matt Riviera was one of those athletes that came up in the business out of love for it. He did not get into wrestling thinking he would become a millionaire. Capturing titles in as many promotions as possible was also not a goal. His career proves those points.
He was born May 18th, 1983 in Russellville, Arkansas. He would start his wrestling career before his 18th birthday. Considering his age, he was not able to do in-ring work. This forced him to do peripheral jobs such as writing articles and taking photographs at events.
At the age of 21, Riviera would complete wrestling school and begin his in-ring career. His experience leading up to this point came into play in how Riviera’s career would progress. Continued education saw him receive a degree in broadcast journalism.
Matt Riviera was a man of many positions
Matt Riviera would hold many titles in and out of the ring during his career. In-ring he would hold the NWA World Tag Team Championship 3 times. This feat was accomplished with his tag team partner, Rob Conway. The Russellville native would also be the inaugural Championship Wrestling of Arkansas Heavyweight Champion (an event I attended live).
More recently, Riviera would go through many matches against Jerry “The King” Lawler that spanned the southern states. Cage matches, grudge matches, etc all came into play leading up to their final bout in Tennessee. Here Lawler would team up with The Rock n Roll Express to challenge Riviera. Riviera would team with “Wildfire” Tommy Rich and “Dangerous” Doug Gilbert. “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart would be in Lawler’s corner.
Also in attendance for this event were musical icon Kid Rock and golf legend John Daly among many other fans.
Outside the ring, Riviera would hold positions as promoter, journalist, play by play, and more. He founded Traditional Championship Wrestling in 2009 taking it national on the Pursuit channel. International syndication was through partner television networks.
Fans can check out many of “The LVR Boy” Matt Riviera’s matches on the CWA Network.
Getting personal
On a personal note, I want to thank Matt for rekindling my interest in wrestling. I attended an event he was promoting in Russellville, Arkansas that featured Jay Lethal (at that time with TNA, now Impact, Wrestling). It was one of those “I got dragged along” situations and I was quite surprised at the fun and energy on display. Fans were into the matches; the athletes worked the crowd well. Many of the athletes took time to meet with fans between matches probably kindling a love for the sport with younger fans.
Since that event, if I could feasibly work in my schedule a local event, I would.
Thanks for the memories, Matt Riviera. Enjoy your retirement and your journey on that next chapter of your life.
Source - PWInsiderXtra
This article was originally published on the Gravis Ludus Wrestling website.