Matt Cardona shares his thoughts on not being brought back to WWE when the company has re-hired other stars.
Matt Cardona signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2006. He then had a lengthy run with the company. As Zack Ryder, he won the WWE United States Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, among other accolades. WWE released him in a wave of cuts in April 2020. Following a brief run in AEW, Cardon reinvented himself and became a buzzworthy star on the independent scene. He has captured the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship and the GCW World Championship, and he has competed all over the wrestling world.
Cardona has often teased returning to WWE. Buzz about his potential return picked up around WWE Royal Rumble 2023, but the event came and went without Cardona, though his wife Chelsea Green made her return. Since then, Cardona has remained active on the independent scene, and he has wrestled for MLW in recent months.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Cardona commented on not being contacted by WWE to return.
"I mean, I'll be honest when all those people got rehired, I was thinking, not me? The guy who has been doing everything? What was the prerequisite to getting re-signed, not doing anything? Besides like Chelsea and like The Good Brothers, and a handful of others, most people didn't do anything. But that's fine. Everyone has a different path, a different story. Do you have a chip on my shoulder about that? I wouldn't say a chip, like a little crumb. But listen, this isn't about proving people wrong. It's about proving myself right. My fans right. If I can convert some doubters and get some new fans along the way, so be it. But I can't have this goal of being the absolute best with like negativity driving it, if that makes sense," Cardona said.
Click here to see what Matt Cardona had to say about what it would take for him to return to WWE.
Cardona previously said it would take a lot of convincing for him to exclusively sign with one company. Check out his comments here.
Cardona has said that he wants to prove you can be a successful wrestler without WWE or AEW. Click here to see what he had to say.
At NWA Paranoid, Cardona is set to challenge for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. More information is available here.
Thanks to Chris Van Vliet for sharing the quotes in this article.
