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A former WWE Intercontinental Champion recently claimed that AEW didn't want his talents following his departure from the Stamford-based promotion. The performer is Matt Cardona, one of the biggest names on the indie circuit.
Following his shocking WWE exit in April 2020 as part of the company's budget cuts, Cardona quickly made a name for himself on the independent circuit. He also made a handful of appearances for All Elite Wrestling, the most prominent of which was when he teamed up with Cody Rhodes to defeat The Dark Order.
However, much to the shock of fans, this didn't translate into a full-time role for him in the Tony Khan-led company. Even without any big promotion behind him, Cardona went on to achieve greater heights and is one of the most popular names in pro wrestling today.
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He recently posted a tweet supporting Scott D'Amore after TNA fired the latter. Cardona mentioned how D'Amore gave him a chance in TNA at a time when WWE let him go, and AEW didn't want him:
".@ScottDAmore gave me an opportunity during the pandemic when WWE fired me, and AEW didn’t want me. Being in Impact [TNA] gave me my confidence back and I was able to go on and become the Deathmatch King and Indy God and more successful than I’ve ever been. #WeWantScott," he tweeted.
Matt Cardona on his short AEW run
A couple of months back, in an interview, Matt Cardona candidly spoke about his short-lived stint with All Elite Wrestling in 2020. Cardona explained that he was expecting to receive a call from the promotion discussing his future with them, but it never came through owing to unexplained reasons.
"I don't know what happened, I have three shirts and two matches. I came in and helped Cody [Rhodes] We had a tag match against The Dark Order. I did like pay-per-view, like the 10-man tag, and I thought I'd be brought back the next weekend. I wasn't, So I don't know exactly what happened. But I know that the first week, I had the number one shirt, but I literally didn't do enough for it to be positive or negative. Blessing in disguise because If I went there and I didn't do GCW, I wouldn't be sitting here with you now," said Cardona.
Considering he's not linked with a WWE return at the moment, it remains to be seen if AEW shows an interest in acquiring Matt Cardona's services down the line.
What do you make of Cardona's current run on the indie circuit? Sound off in the comments section below.
