Matt Cardona’s AEW status after shocking return disclosed - Reports

Matt Cardona made a shocking return to AEW tonight as the mystery opponent for Adam Copeland's latest Cope Open Challenge. The Indy God entered Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, to a huge reaction from the crowd. A new report has provided insight into his current status with the company.

Cardona had been teasing a match with Copeland (fka Edge) for a while and has even stated that his biggest dream match would be a singles bout with the WWE Hall of Famer. The former Zack Ryder has plenty of history with Copeland, having been brought to WWE's main roster in 2007 as part of an angle involving Edge.

The two have shared the ring several times, both as partners and rivals, but never in a singles match. That changed tonight as Matt Cardona challenged Adam Copeland for the AEW TNT Championship.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Cardona is not signed to All Elite Wrestling and remains a free agent. The report notes that The Indy God's booking came together at the last minute, and plans for his Squared Circle Expo Championship defense against Ultimo Dragon had to be changed so that Cardona could make it for tonight's edition of Collision.

Cardona and Copeland competed in a hard-hitting bout tonight, with the champion retaining his title in just over 13 minutes. It remains to be seen whether the NWA star will make any future appearances for the Jacksonville-based promotion.

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Matt Cardona suffers his first defeat in AEW

Before tonight, Matt Cardona had only competed twice for All Elite Wrestling. Both matches came in the summer of 2020 when Cardona was allied with Cody Rhodes and The Nightmare Family against Brodie Lee's Dark Order.

At the time, the former Zack Ryder was on a limited appearance deal with AEW which ran only for a few months. However, he went undefeated during his short stint.

Cardona recently reminded everyone that he was still a top dog in the Jacksonville-based promotion while teasing a return to face Adam Copeland.

Matt Cardona suffered his first All Elite defeat tonight, ending his pristine record. He isn't likely to mind, however, as he finally managed to get the dream match he'd been wanting for some time.