Matt Cardona reveals how he can make toy deals with WWE legends
Matt Cardona made his official return to WWE on the January 2, 2026 episode of SmackDown. But the Indy God hasn’t left behind a lot of the business deals that he put together whilst working independent scene, especially when it comes to his massive toy collection business MAJOR.
Speaking on the latest Have More Money Now w/ John Layfield podcast, Cardona revealed how he is able to put these deals together with legends, even those who used to be in WWE:
“So, so pretty much we can touch anybody who does not have like a WWE nostalgia deal, right, and believe it or not, there’s a lot of guys out there who don’t, for one reason or another” Cardona revealed.
“So, you know, we’d approach them, or unfortunately they were deceased, so we’d approach the family and we just lay out the deal. [It’s all] very simple. It’s pretty much a handshake deal, but in writing, right? We want you [wrestlers and families] to make as much money elsewhere as possible. So there’s non-exclusivity, so if there’s another toy company out there, because now there’s a bunch of these independent toy companies, go sign with all of them!”
Matt Cardona toy company makes millions
Cardona also noted that some of the biggest names in wrestling history aren’t under a WWE deal, so he is able to have his company make them in collectible form: “guys like Flair or Macho Man or Andre The Giant, or independent stars, or guys from ECW like Sabu, pretty much anyone like I said, who doesn’t have a legends deal we can make.”
Cardona would also reveal how he is making millions of dollars from these toy deals: “We’re making millions of dollars a year from these toys, which is just wild. Something that started as a passion project, if I wanted it to be, it could be my only job.”
If you use any of the quotes from this article then please link back to this page with a credit to F4WOnline for the transcription
Jake is the Head of Audience at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.