Matt Cardona says that if he potentially returned to WWE, he wouldn’t want to do it as Zack Ryder.
Cardona worked for WWE from 2006, when he signed a developmental deal with the company, until 2020, when he was released in a wave of cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the United States Championship, and he also held the tag titles twice. Since he left the company, he has reinvented himself and turned into a buzzworthy star on the open market. He has won the GCW Word Championship, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and the IMPACT Digital Media Championship, among other titles.
In an interview with Kevin Kellam of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Cardona was asked about the recent changes in WWE. He noted that the product has been exciting, as stars are constantly coming back or debuting. As for himself, he noted that he’s grateful for his run as Zack Ryder, but if he potentially returned to WWE, he’d want it to be under his real name.
“It’s certainly exciting. Every week, it seems like, maybe not every week, but it seems like someone’s coming back or debuting or re-debuting it’s fresh, it’s exciting,” Cardona said. “It’s must-see TV, and I think that’s what wrestling should be. Yeah, I said Zack Ryder is dead because, and listen, never say never, right, but if I were to ever go back, it has to be as Matt Cardona. Zack Ryder, it was what it was. I’m so grateful for that run. It has set me up for this run. Without being Zack Ryder in WWE, I wouldn’t be Matt Cardona talking to you right now. So it set me up for everything.
“But the ‘Woo, woo, woo’, the headband, the sunglasses, it’s dead. I was trying to get away from stuff while I was still Zack Ryder in WWE, but you can’t write the show. So if I’m trying to be more serious, but you’re booked to be not so serious, it is what it is. That’s why, when I was let go, it was like, oh my god. Not that I had any handcuffs on, but the handcuffs were off, and I was able to just become the new version of me, whatever that was going to be.”
Cardona continues to compete for IMPACT Wrestling, NWA, and GCW, among other promotions. He will challenge for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship at NWA Hard Times 3.
The full interview is available here:
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