Matt Cardona has had the best run of his career since leaving the WWE.
Cardona was released from his contract with the company four years ago. He had a short, unmemorable run with AEW, but quickly became one of the best characters on the indies after that. The “Deathmatch King” is booked solid (by his own admission), but some fans still keep asking when he’ll be back in WWE or AEW.
Cardona says you’ll need to ask WWE and AEW why they haven’t signed him to a contract yet.
The former Zack Ryder is not looking for a move back to WWE, as he told Sports Illustrated. The former Intercontinental Champion revealed his goal is not to return to WWE, but to be the best version of Matt Cardona he can be.
“And why doesn’t AEW or WWE hire me? That’s a question you need to ask them. I’m not here to prove anyone wrong–I’m here to prove myself and my fans right. My goal was to reinvent myself and reinvent what it means to be a successful independent wrestler.
“I’ve proven you don’t need AEW or WWE. I am grateful for my time in WWE, from 2006-2020. WWE was my developmental. That’s not a dig. They literally taught me everything I needed to be a success outside of WWE.
“It’s only March, and my calendar is booked through November. If the phone rang and it was Triple H or Tony Khan, of course I’d listen. But that’s not my goal. My goal is to continue being the best version of me.”
Matt Cardona Wants Deathmatch Against Mick Foley
With Mick Foley planning to lose 100 pounds to step in the ring one last time, Matt Cardona has put himself up to face the WWE Hall of Famer.
With Foley planning to wrestle one last deathmatch, the man known as the “Deathmatch King” wants to make the bout the “biggest match in the history of independent wrestling”.
“It’s no secret I’ve been politicking for this match. Go back to the Hammerstein ballroom a couple years ago, I was wearing a flannel that said ‘F— Mick Foley’. If he wants a deathmatch, it would only be fitting to have one against the deathmatch king. It would be the biggest match in the history of independent pro wrestling.”
Cardona became known as the “Deathmatch King” following his match against Nick Gage in GCW in 2021.
