Matt Cardona reveals Zack Ryder’s future in WWE
Matt Cardona talked about the future of his Zack Ryder persona and potential WWE comeback.
In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Cardona stated that the Zack Ryder gimmick died after his 2020 release from WWE. And how his run on the independent circuit birthed Cardona’s personality and in-ring work today.
“When I got released in 2020, I knew Zack Ryder was dead. And as grateful as I was for him, he taught me everything. And WWE taught me everything I needed to become a superstar outside of WWE. That’s what I did. I reinvented myself, rebranded, and had the most fun and the most success I ever had in my career.”
“But the goal was always to be WWE Champion. You can’t be WWE Champion unless you’re in WWE. As awesome as the independents were, I wanted to wrestle on SmackDown. I wanted to wrestle in Madison Square Garden again, or have a WrestleMania moment … My dream was never to be a pro wrestler. My dream was to be a WWE Superstar.”
“I’m so excited to be coming back to Atlantic City. It was a very special place in my career on the independents. That’s where Matt Cardona was truly born. GCW in Atlantic City.”
“They wanted Matt Cardona,” he said. “I’m proud of that. That they thought the Matt Cardona I built on the independents was more valuable than Zack Ryder. And I’m grateful for Zack Ryder, because without him and my previous time in WWE, there’s no Matt Cardona. Everything I learned, and not just putting matches together, but how to do interviews like this, how to market myself, how to sell merchandise, I learned it in WWE.”
Cardona returned to WWE via NXT during their invasion feud with TNA. He was a surprise entrant in John Cena’s Last Time is Now tournament against LA Knight in November. Since then he has been associated with the SmackDown brand.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.