Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) once pitched Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) as the winner of the WWE Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy at WrestleMania 35, but Vince McMahon pitched something for the two of them instead.
The careers of Brian Myers and Matt Cardona, formerly known as Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder are forever intertwined. Paired since their days in the New York Wrestling Connection training academy, Myers and Cardona have experienced the highest of highs together and the lowest of lows.
In 2019, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were given an unexpected WrestleMania moment when they defeated The Revival (FTR) for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship. Now, Brian Myers is revealing his original suggestion to Vince McMahon for that event, revealing he never planned on becoming a WWE Tag Team Champion for the second time in his career.
In an interview with Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Cardona recalled his pitch to have Curt Hawkins end his losing streak by winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
“WrestleMania was about to be in New York and New Jersey, one hometown,” Cardona said. “We had pitched that we would be the two final guys in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal and I would sacrifice myself. Brian would clothesline me out, and he would get his big moment at WrestleMania, break the streak, win the trophy. Vince – he didn’t like it, which is fine.”
That year, the Andre trophy would be won by Braun Strowman but Hawkins and Ryder were able to become the WWE Raw Tag Team Champions. Matt Cardona believes that they were given the opportunity because they were direct in approaching Vince McMahon
“Two weeks later, we win the tag team titles at WrestleMania! I believe because we went into his office and he’s like, “Oh these guys, they live here!” I don’t know that for a fact, because we were just getting the Andre The Giant Battle Royale, and all of a sudden we’re in this tag team title match.
“We had no program with The Revival at the time, they were doing something for months with Bobby Roode and Chad Gable," Cardona added. "Then all of a sudden, we’re in this match and we win the belts! I think that’s because we went and talked to Vince. You never know what’s gonna happen.”
Ultimately, Hawkins and Ryder would be released by WWE a year later but both found their footing on the independent scene and in promotions like IMPACT Wrestling.
At IMPACT Hard to Kill 2023, The Major Players, Myers and Cardona will look to capture IMPACT Tag Team Championship gold. Fans can check out the full card for the January 13 event at this link.
