Matt Cardona wants to wrestle in a first-time-ever match in WWE against his former gimmick, Zack Ryder.
Matt Cardona made his WWE debut in 2007 as Zack Ryder. He was in a tag team with Curt Hawkins, known as the Edgeheads, because they were the Rated-R Superstar's lackeys. Over the years, Cardona became one of the most popular guys on the roster. However, he was never fully utilized and was released in 2020.
Following his release, Cardona has gone on a wildly successful run on the independent circuit and has won championships in several promotions. He also changed his name from Zack Ryder to Matt Cardona.
He has since tried to acquire the trademark for his former name, Zack Ryder, for one unique reason. During a recent interview with Wrestling Inc., he revealed that he's trying to get the trademark for his name to have a cinematic match against his former gimmick, Zack Ryder.
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"Well, the WWE, they let the trademark go. And I said, well, I'm going to try to pick this up because I'm thinking of all the possibilities. We could do a Ryder versus Cardona cinematic match with the Major Bendies, Matt Cardona versus Zack Ryder two-pack. I'm thinking merchandise, right? I didn't want to be Zack Ryder. I wasn't going to come out as Zack Ryder on the indies or anything like that. I just wanted the name for merch and ideas like that. "
He continued:
"I knew there was a chance that WWE would try to stop me, and they did. [Laughs] They contacted my lawyer and then I said, you know what? Okay, I'm backing off. I'm not fighting WWE over this. Not worth the time, certainly not worth the money because to me, Zack Ryder... Listen, I'm so grateful for my time in WWE as Zack Ryder. It has set me up for this run. It was my dream. Long live Matt Cardona, the Indie God." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Matt Cardona explained how the match would work
During the same interview, he was asked how the match against himself would work. Cardona replied that the match would start with Zack Ryder already in the ring. He also stated that Cardona will go over.
"Well, I think Zack Ryder would have to be already in the ring. Typical Zack Ryder fashion, already in the ring, from Long Island, New York, no entrance, dark entrance. And then, of course, I would go over. Matt Cardona would beat Zack Ryder."
He continued to say that while Ryder had an aggressive side to him, he wasn't a "death match king" like Cardona.
"Yeah. I think Ryder had an aggressive side that not many people want to remember, but he wasn't a death match king like Matt Cardona. There's no denying that." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Cardona's stock is on the rise and while this might get WWE's attention, we will have to wait and see if they will allow Cardona to step foot in their ring.
What do you think of Cardona's interesting match idea? Sound off in the comments section.