Magazine Archive: Matt Cardona feature (Patreon)

By Stephen Jensen of Fightful Magazine issue 6

***

“You have all the tools, but you’ll never be a top guy. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”

These are the words that Matt Cardonawas told while being released from his dream job with World Wrestling Entertainment.

They are the same words that Cardona spoke when Game Changer Wrestling announced they’re heading to the Hammerstein Ballroom later this year.

A lifelong WWE fan, Matt Cardona spent 15 years of his career with WWE, and his time there was full of ups and downs. He was a perfect example of a performer that consistently got himself over with the audience, whether on-screen or being one of the first mainstream wrestlers to utilize YouTube but was basically punished for it because it didn’t figure into Vince McMahon’s plans for him. Cardona himself has said that he was unsure of his future in the company, telling Busted Open Radio that he had been negotiating a new potential deal with WWE for over a year and his current contract was coming up soon, but the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic made his decision for him, and he was released from his contract in April of 2020.

Cardona told Busted Open Radio, “The anxiety I had about it, ‘Do I stay, do I go?’ It was really eating me up. When the call was made and I was released, the decision was made for me. Instantly, I was relieved.”

After leaving the land of Sports Entertainment, Cardona popped up in All Elite Wrestling, aligning himself with real-life friend and AEW EVP Cody Rhodes. Fans were excited to see what this new version of “Zack Ryder” would look like, but his time in AEW was short-lived.

“My AEW agreement was only short-term,” says Cardona. “Did I have ideas of how to elongate that? Absolutely. But I don’t write the show. I don’t offer the contracts. I enjoyed my time in AEW. It obviously wasn’t meant to be at the time. I’d absolutely be open to working for AEW again in the future.”

From there, Cardona was next seen in Impact Wrestling, making a surprise appearance at Hard To Kill. Shortly after, Cardona embarked in a feud with long-time friend and business partner Brian Myers, formerly known as Curt Hawkins, who was also released from WWE at the same time as Cardona. On screen, Cardona and Myers were at odds with one another, but behind the scenes the two of them, along with current AEW manager “Smart” Mark Sterling, were thriving due to the success of The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.

“Brian and I pitched a wrestling figure podcast to WWE. We also pitched a toy show for the WWE Network. They didn’t go for either of them,” says Cardona. “That was such a blessing in disguise. We started The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast in August of 2018 while still working for WWE. We made sure to use our real names and avoid WWE IP for advertisements, graphics, merchandise, etc. WWE never tried to take over the podcast once we started it. Once we were released, we were able to continue the podcast as it wasn’t owned by WWE. The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast continues to grow more than ever. We have our fans, our Major Marks, to thank for that.”

Their podcast, YouTube, and Twitch channels have become so successful that it’s led to them creating their own line of action figures to continue to grow their brand as well as help out other independent talents.

“We are so excited to start our very own toy line, Major Bendies. We love the entire process,” says Cardona. “It’s so fascinating to see a figure go from concept art to a prototype to a finished product and all the stages in between. We are seeking out other wrestlers to be in the line. Wrestlers who got skipped during the Just Toys Bend-Ems era and the hottest unsigned talents are who we are looking for when choosing line ups.”

The “Major Marks” continued to support Cardona, but most fans felt like they were watching a similar version of “Zack Ryder” in AEW and Impact that they had seen in WWE for the previous 15 years. It was time for a change, and that change came in the form of an unlikely opponent in a company completely different from anything Cardona had been a part of before. It was time to have a deathmatch with arguably the most popular wrestler on the independent scene, Nick Gage.

“I’m ‘Alwayz Ready’. I’ve made a career out of capitalizing on opportunities,” says Cardona. “I viewed a match with Nick Gage in GCW as an incredible opportunity. I knew it would get people talking. I could not have predicted how much buzz it would actually create. There’s no denying that GCW is growing and growing fast. I want to help them grow. I want to be the face of the company.”

The unlikely matchup started through social media jabs that quickly caught the attention of “Wrestling Twitter,” and before long Cardona would make his GCW debut by attacking Nick Gage, with Gage returning the favor by interrupting a Major Figure Podcast event. The match was official.

Cardona himself has mentioned that he’s the same guy regardless of which company he’s performing for, and his “Major Marks” will always have his back, but the majority of the GCW audience completely despises him because of his Sports Entertainment roots. Not only would Cardona take on Gage in an extremely bloody and ultra-violent deathmatch, but he also won to become the new Game Changer Wrestling World Champion. Cardona was showered with garbage from the “GCW Universe” immediately following his victory in one of the wildest scenes I’ve ever witnessed.

“I went toe to toe with Nick Gage and not only did I survive… but I won. Nobody expected that,” says Cardona. “I don’t care about proving doubters and haters wrong. I care about proving myself and my fans right. I proved us right. I became the new deathmatch king. The response from the GCW Universe was incredible. They absolutely hated me, and I absolutely loved it.”

After winning the GCW Title, Cardona dubbed himself “The Deathmatch King”and would continue to implement WWE-style elements in an attempt to “fix” the promotion to make it more Sports Entertainment based. He’d go on to dress like the “WWECW” version of Mr. McMahon and “The Macho King” Randy Savage. He also introduced a spinning “GCW Universal Championship” belt and used parts of his old WWE theme music for his entrances in a calculated attempt to gain more heat from the audience.

“I love WWE. I have no ill will towards WWE like so many others who leave the company do,” says Cardona. “The GCW Universe hates me for being me. They hate me because I am a Superstar. My job and my goal is to make them hate me even more. I want them to buy a ticket or order a GCW show to see me get my ass kicked. Unfortunately for them, it’s just not going to happen.”

Cardona has since dropped the GCW World Title, losing to Jon Moxley roughly two months after winning the belt. Fans were unsure if that was the last they’d see of Cardona in Game Changer Wrestling. But that led straight into a high-profile feud with Effy, one of the top stars of the promotion, while also incorporating the Internet Championship that Cardona introduced to the world over a decade ago. As we’ve come to find out, Cardona is sticking around for the foreseeable future.

When asked about his relationship with GCW owner Brett Lauderdale, Cardona explains, “I have a lot of respect for Brett. Look what he has built. If GCW isn’t the number three promotion in the USA, then what is? I believe the respect is mutual. He knows my value. He knows what I bring to the table. He knows that I am a team player and I want the brand to continue to grow.”

Not only has Cardona become an important piece of the GCW puzzle, his fiancéChelsea Green has now entered the promotion. Green has also been aligned with Cardona in Impact, as he continues to perform there on a regular basis. Matches against Effy andAllie Katch in GCW appeared inevitable but beyond that, it sounds like Cardona and Green will focus on their own individual careers.

“I have absolutely zero interest in having multiple mixed tag team matches with Chelsea,” says Cardona.  “The one at Slammiversary where she returned was a perfect way for her to come back to Impact and was a lot of fun. I’m sure we will mix it up with Allie Katch and Effy once or twice in GCW. But other than that, we are focused on our solo careers.”

Cardona has also used his buzz to help elevate other independent promotions and wrestlers, most notably Absolute Intense Wrestling, where he became the AIW Absolute Champion and AIW Intense Champion after defeating top blue chip indie prospect Joshua Bishop. Cardona doesn’t want to stop there though, and he has another company in his crosshairs where he wants to continue to prove himself to the wrestling world.

“I want to wrestle for NJPW in Japan. It’s as simple as that,” Cardona says.

Now that he’s reinvented himself and his future looks brighter than ever, Cardona is enjoying this stage of his career, but doesn’t completely rule out rejoining WWE sometime down the line.

“My goal is not to get back to WWE,” he says. “I am having the time of my life right now. I am my own boss. I certainly am not ruling out a return sometime in the distant future though.”

The next major milestone for Cardona will be his involvement in GCW’s debut show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, a venue synonymous with Extreme Championship Wrestling. Although Cardona was technically a part of ECW (WWECW), this event will have a totally different vibe. And with the success of Game Changer Wrestling, it looks like the Hammerstein show will be the first of many to take place in high-profile venues, as the company continues to grow and establish itself as the clear number three wrestling promotion in the United States.

Matt Cardona is a perfect example of making your own success. A man who lost his dream job but went on to become an even bigger star because of it. A man who reinvented himself and stepped out of his comfort zone. A man who runs a thriving brand of his own along with his friends. A man who is leaving a legacy behind that so many other wrestlers could learn from.

“If my career ended tomorrow, I’d be satisfied. But that’s not how my brain works. I want more,” says Cardona. “I always want more. I’m always setting new goals. I want to be remembered as someone who took a chance on himself and changed the business. Whether you love me or hate me, you must admit that that’s the truth. I changed the business in 2011 and I’m very proud of that. I’ve had a lot of highs and lows since then. But that’s this business… that’s life. Nobody has been counted out more times in this business and has come back more times than me. I am the cockroach of the wrestling business; you cannot kill me. I’m still here… and I’ll always be here.”

This leads me right back to where this all started.

“You have all the tools, but you’ll never be a top guy. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”

He has all the tools, and now he’s proven that he’s a top guy. He’s absolutely killing it in his future endeavors and has more buzz right now than ever before. It doesn’t matter where, when, or who his opponent is because Matt Cardona is Alwayz Ready.

Stephen Jensenis a longtime MMA and pro wrestling writer. For over two years, he’s hosted the Weekender Podcast on Fightful Select, speaking about the world of professional wrestling.

Twitter: @FightTalk_