Zack Ryder and Persia Pirotta will rest in peace.
On May 22, Matt Cardona posted a video in which he brought back Z! True Long Island Story. As Zack Ryder, he kicked off the show, but he was interrupted by Persia Pirotta (De Lander). She stole the Internet Championship, and Ryder chased her into a limo, which seemingly exploded.
Cardona posted a new video, which began with a graphic that read, "In memory of Zack Ryder & Persia Pirotta." De Lander was shown in a cemetery, and she was trying to reach Cardona on the phone. She looked at a tombstone that had both Pirotta and Ryder's names on it. A gong sounded, and The RyderTaker (Cardona) appeared a few feet away. Wearing a hat and coat much like The Undertaker, he stared at De Lander, and the camera zoomed in to show that he had a "Steph" tattoo on his neck. The RyderTaker made the "rest in peace" sign as The Undertaker's theme song started playing.
De Lander ran away, and The RyderTaker slowly walked after her. He caught De Lander and grabbed her by the throat, but she escaped into a limo. She told the driver to "drive away from Matt." The divider separating the front of the car from the back rolled down and revealed that The RyderTaker was driving the limo. He asked, "Where to, Stephanie?" before he laughed, and The Undertaker's theme song played again.
The video can be seen here:
THE RYDERTAKER!
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) May 31, 2023
Zack Ryder & Persia Pirotta will REST IN PEACE!@themattcardona @stephdelander
--: @SHOOT_HARRY pic.twitter.com/30xXWJslM9
Cardona then retweeted the video and stated that he got a text from a number that he didn't know with a Death Valley area code. He noted that the message was, "You've done it now. You've gone and made a big mistake," which is from The Undertaker's "You're Gonna Pay" theme song.
I just got a text from a number I didn’t know with a Death Valley area code that said….
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) May 31, 2023
“You’ve done it now. You’ve gone and made a big mistake.” https://t.co/HERriEzqHR
Cardona and De Lander previously worked for WWE at different points. As Zack Ryder, Cardona has a lengthy run with the company before he was released in a wave of cuts in 2020. De Lander was a featured character on NXT until she was abruptly released in a series of cuts in 2022.
Since the end of their runs in WWE, Cardona and De Lander have reinvented themselves on the independent scene. Cardona has won the GCW World Championship and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, among other titles. De Lander has wrestled for various promotions, including GCW, IMPACT, ROH, and AEW. She has also won the WSW Women's Championship. In recent months, De Lander and Cardona have joined forces on the independent scene.
Cardona recently expressed his interest in working with Cody Rhodes in WWE. Click here to see what he had to say.
Check out De Lander's comments about her WWE release and her run on the independent scene here.
