Don’t expect to see a surprise Matt Cardona return on Raw or SmackDown.
With multiple previously released Superstars brought back to the company following Triple H being named head of creative, many referenced Cardona’s amazing work on the independent scene and assumed that WWE would capitalise on this. Furthermore, with Cardona’s wife Chelsea Green joining the company in January, rumours of the former Zack Ryder coming back to his old employer seemed stronger than ever.
With appearances in GCW, IMPACT and the NWA, Cardona looks to have no intentions of being exclusive to one promotion. Speaking with Wrestling Inc., the former Intercontinental Champion revealed what it would take to have him appear for just one organisation:
“It would take a lot of convincing. Listen, I’m a businessman. I would have a conversation with anybody who call me, but it would take the two C’s: cash and creative. Of course, there’s no promises with creative, but the intention would have to be there. I don’t want to just be a guy on a roster. Been there, done that, it’s great, and I get it if you’re fine with that. If you have a family, you want that check coming in. You want the security. I get it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t need that. Been there, done that.
Cardona continued, stating that he doesn’t want to be just another wrestler but would jump at the opportunity at a major appearance if what he was doing would appeal to him:
My dream wasn’t just to be a pro wrestler. My dream was to be a f***ing wrestling superstar. Right now, I’m doing it on my own, but if AEW called, if Tony Khan called me right now and said, ‘Hey, we want you for All In in Wembley,’ if it made sense, of course, I would go. If WWE called and said, ‘Hey, we want to bring you back,” blah blah blah, if it made sense, of course, I would go. But until then, I don’t need to go,” Cardona said.
When Did Matt Cardona Leave WWE?
Following a 15-year-plus career with the company, Cardona was amongst the first round of mass releases by the company in 2020 due to budget cuts during the pandemic. Once the 90 days were up, Zack Ryder was no more and The Deathmatch King had arrived in GCW.
Creating an impact right from the start, Cardona would defeat GCW legend Nick Gage at his own game to hold the title for the first time, much to the anger of the fans in attendance.