Matt Cardona says he'll never quit, as he is determined to thrive.
Since his WWE release in 2020, Cardona has reinvented himself on the independent scene. He had has garnered plenty of buzz as "The Deathmatch King", as he memorably battled Nick Gage in a brutal bout. More recently, Cardona has been having a successful run as "The Indie God" alongside Steph De Lander. The duo regularly post videos on social media that add to their characters in the ring.
Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Cardona discussed his pairing with De Lander, and he highlighted the success of their videos on social media.
“A few months ago during a tour of Australia, I met Steph De Lander. She’s six-feet tall, she has these blonde bangs and piercings all over her and looks like she can kick my ass. I wanted to work with her. Every week since we’ve been a team, we’ve filmed a vignette for social media. They’re designed to capture people’s attention. One of them, ‘The RiderTaker,’ got over one million views," Cardona said.
Cardona then discussed the video where he and De Lander recreated the classic D-Generation X segment where they gave a presidential address. He noted that he loves callbacks, as as he emphasized that he's a fan. Cardona made it clear that he loves wrestling, and he won't stop until he's the best he has ever been.
“That presidential one is taking a shot at all those carny indie promoters out there. I love the callbacks. I’m a fan, too. I was a kid who grew up wanting to do this so goddamn bad. I love this, and that’s why I won’t quit. It’s the reason this indie run has been so successful. I won’t stop until I’m the best I’ve ever been. I take a lot of pride in being the voice of the independents—I can say what others cannot, and I’m adding my ‘Indie God’ character into it," he said.
In a general sense, Cardona emphasized that he loves having freedom and controlling his schedule. Cardona noted that it would take a lot for him to sign somewhere, though he'd be lying if he said he never wanted another WrestleMania moment.
“I love the freedom, I love controlling my schedule. When you’re in WWE or AEW, you don’t get to make your own schedule. Now I’d be lying if I said I never want to work at Madison Square Garden again or I never wanted another WrestleMania moment. Of course, I do. If I get those phone calls, I’ll have that conversation. But I’m making the most money I’ve ever made, I’m having the most fun, and I’m at the highest level I’ve ever been, so it would take a lot to get me to sign,” Cardona said.
Cardona cited his past and his never-ending push to keep going, no matter how many times he has been counted out. He again made it clear that he will never quit, and the Internet Champion went so far as to say that he would die trying to achieve his goals.
“There is nobody in the history of this business who’s been counted out and came back more than me. I was written off so many times, often by myself. But I’ll never quit. I’ll die attempting to be the version of myself I believe I can be," he said.
In a tweet, Cardona recently proved that he made over $20,000 from his bloody t-shirt. More information is available here.
Cardona was recently announced for Virtual Basement's "The Wrestling Code" video game.
Click here to see what Cardona had to say about his post-WWE run.
