Matt Cardona responds to criticism over canceled indie bookings
Upon his return to WWE, Matt Cardona had no other choice but to cancel all of the remaining indie dates he had lined up.
Cardona is now a full-time member of the WWE SmackDown roster after returning last Friday. He spoke to Notsam Wrestling about his return and reflected on his five-year indie run, calling it the best time of his career so far. The former Zack Ryder has received some criticism from fans on social media for having to cancel his scheduled indie bookings and vacate the titles he held. He understands that criticism, but there’s no way Cardona could have worked a WWE schedule while fulfilling months of indie shows.
“There’s been a couple of haters online, I totally understand that,” Cardona said. “I was booked until the summer. If I took every indie date that I agreed to, I wouldn’t be able to be in WWE. It’s as simple as that. It’s not like I had one or two. Like, I’m literally booked every weekend until the summer.”
Cardona added that there has not been any negativity from the indie promoters he was supposed to appear for.
“Any promoter who gave me a deposit — they’ve already been taken care of,” he said. “Everybody understood.”
Juggalo Championship Wrestling is one of the promotions that Cardona was champion of. Vince Russo, who is part of the JCW creative team, tweeted that he was “100 percent thrilled” about Cardona getting the chance to go back to WWE.
I haven't said anything so I will now.
— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) January 4, 2026
I am 100% THRILLED for @TheMattCardona. I know this was Matt's Goal, and the opportunity to be able to be on the road and travel with the lovely @ImChelseaGreen once again is a BEAUTIFUL THING! I LOVE both these guys—TRULY!!!
I'm also… pic.twitter.com/LdYkaFqAvy
Orange Crush announced today that Cardona will not be able to appear at their upcoming Superpower Slam event, calling the circumstances “unforeseen but very exciting.”
*SUPERPOWER SLAM UPDATE*
— ORANGE CRUSH (@orangecrushart) January 7, 2026
Matt Cardona has informed us that due to unforeseen (but very exciting) circumstances he won't be able to appear on the benefit show.
That said, Cardona has promised to "pad the lope" for whoever replaces him at Melrose with the bounty provided to him… pic.twitter.com/GlXZPV7B0v
Cardona’s appearance in WWE’s Last Time is Now Tournament is what got the ball rolling on his return. He officially arrived on SmackDown with a victory over Kit Wilson last week.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.