Jon Moxley criticizes WWE for holding former IC Champion back

In his new book MOX, Jon Moxley wrote about WWE’s failure to capitalize on Matt Cardona’s popularity in the early 2010s.

Cardona, known as Zack Ryder in WWE, became a fan favorite thanks to his entertaining YouTube series. He faced Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose, in several live event matches in May 2012.

Moxley recalled how Cardona was “over as hell” with fans before WWE prevented him from becoming a top star:

“I can tell you for a fact, because I was there, that for a minute they had it with Ryder, he was over as all hell. Of course, being WWE, it wouldn’t be long before they went out of their way to f*** it up for reasons I can’t explain. I’ll tell you one thing about Zack Ryder, too: No matter what, he always maintained the best spray tan in the game. Respect,” he wrote.

Moxley and Cardona never faced each other in a televised WWE singles match, but their paths recently crossed in GCW. On September 4, Moxley defeated Cardona at GCW The Art of War Games to win the GCW World Championship.

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Jon Moxley enjoyed his matches against Matt Cardona

Jon Moxley was originally supposed to feud with Mick Foley shortly after WrestleMania 28, but WWE’s medical team refused to clear Foley to wrestle. As a result, Moxley’s main roster call-up was delayed and he ended up facing Matt Cardona at live events instead.

Although the current AEW star wanted to face Foley, he enjoyed his run of untelevised matches against Cardona.

“It was intoxicating, feeling that energy night after night. It was also a great opportunity for me to show I could jump right in and tear it up with a guy the crowd treated like a legit superstar,” Moxley wrote.

Six months later, Moxley debuted on WWE’s main roster at Survivor Series 2012 alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as a member of The Shield, and the rest is history.