Matt Cardona has made surprise appearances in both All Elite Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling. However, he hasn’t signed with either promotion and wants to test free agency.
“On paper 2020 for me was a horrible year,” Cardona admitted in an interview with Instinct Culture by Denise Salcedo. “I got released from my dream job, this global pandemic, I had to cancel my wedding, but in reality, it was one of if not the best years of my life. It was awesome to have this freedom and listen, I am so grateful for my time in WWE. I mean, I am not ignorant, without WWE the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast wouldn’t be successful. Nobody would want to listen to it. So I get it right, and I am very grateful for everything that I got in WWE. But it was time to go, and they made that decision for me.”
What appeals to Cardona most is the freedom he currently has and that is why he hasn’t signed a long-term contract anywhere.
“I was so happy, I was already on Pro Wrestling Tees making my own page with new merch, and I am like ‘this is what I need.’ I need to be creative, and not that I had handcuffs on me in WWE but like you can’t go on WWE Shop and make your own shirt, if they don’t want to make you a shirt, you can’t make a shirt. But now I could do whatever I want and you know what if it sells one or a hundred or a thousand who cares.
“It’s the coolest thing ever just to be able to try. Of course, I want to be successful in everything I do, but that’s not life, that’s not reality. You’re going to fail but that’s how you learn, that’s how you grow. So it’s just been so fun because I signed with WWE when I was 20 years old, 2006, and got released in 2020. That’s a long time of working at the same place, doing the same thing. So now, no I don’t want to just jump and sign this three year deal with somebody. I don’t. I wanna explore my options, I wanna have fun.”
As far as dream opponents go, Cardona has names in both AEW and IMPACT.
“I am still a fan of everything, I still watch everything: WWE, AEW, IMPACT, ROH, New Japan. I love what MJF is doing, this guy who Brian Myers trained and in just a couple of years & he’s [already] one of the top guys in the business and he’s super young, he’s gonna be a huge star, he’s already a huge star.
“In IMPACT, I had my eye on Ace Austin before I even got there… This kid has it, like everyone says, the ‘it factor, he definitely has it. We had like a 5 minute sprint of a match but I’d like to work with him in a nice long competitive hard-hitting match…. When I am in the ring with somebody I can tell, like this guy is good. You can just tell if you have chemistry or not and it takes time for somebody to build chemistry with each other. But I just felt like we’re on the same page, he’s somebody I would definitely like to work with again because I think our styles mesh well, he’s a good guy.”
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