Matt Cardona has given advice to recently released WWE stars after he found himself in the same position as them last year, being cut after 13 years as part of the main roster.
Cardona’s fiancé Chelsea Green also found herself at the mercy of WWE’s chopping block being released on April 15th, 2021, exactly one year to the day after Cardona’s own release from the company. Since then Cardona has carved out an intriguing career for himself. He launched the Major Figures Wrestling podcast alongside long-time tag team partner Brian Myers. As well as that Cardona has found himself busy in-ring despite the pandemic after a stint in AEW, he is now with IMPACT Wrestling.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Matt Cardona reiterated his advice to recently released talent, telling them it’s time to do the work.
Cardona explained:
“I tweeted this the other day or something similar, even last month when Chelsea and everybody else got released. This can be the best thing for you if you do the work. If you, you know, bet on yourself and take a chance on yourself and hustle. But if you just think all these promoters are going to book you and you’re going to get all these paydays, that’s probably not going to happen.
“Maybe if you’re Braun Strowman, but for everybody else, you’re going to have to work for it and hustle and make a name for yourself again. And make your own merch and, whether it be a side project like a podcast or something, you’ve got to make it for yourself. Because nobody’s going to hand it to you. That I love. I love being in control of my own destiny. Whether I succeed or fail, I just want the opportunity to do that.”
Recent reports suggest anyone wanting to book former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman will need deep pockets. However, Cardona says for anyone it’s incredibly important to take control of your brand, and part of that is creating merchandise that fans will want to buy.
Cardona continued:
“It’s extremely important. If you don’t know how to create your own buzz or create your own merch? You need merchandise. And guess what? You’re going to have to learn to pack it up. I have this whole shipment statement in my kitchen that my fiancée hates. I pack up everything, I have the label maker, I have the post office coming every morning to pick stuff up. That’s what I do.
“That’s part of my, I hate using the word brand, but okay. I need to sell merch. That’s how I feed myself and live and pay my bills. I’m not getting this check every week in the mail. If I want money, I have to go out and earn it. So you have to hustle and you have to get it, whether it be wrestling or starting your podcast and making your own podcast or doing whatever your passion is. You need to do that and start knocking down those doors.”
Within hours of receiving word of her WWE release, Chelsea Green had a ProWrestlingTees store set up and t-shirts for sale thanks to the quick-thinking actions of Cardona.
Matt Cardona recently caused a sensation online as his career took another twist. Masquerading as AEW star Jon Moxley, Cardona dropped GCW Champion and deathmatch king Nick Gage with a Paradigm Shift. Cardona then unmasked to a thundering ovation of jeers from the amassed audience.