Matt Cardona always knew he had to beat his childhood cancer if he wanted to become a professional wrestler.
The former WWE star discovered a tumor in his foot during high school. Doctors soon found the cancer had spread to his lungs and Matt Cardona suffered through surgeries and chemotherapy in his battle with the illness. The Indy God made a full recovery, and the cancer motivated him to become a WWE Superstar.
Matt Cardona appeared with RJ City on Hey! EW on YouTube and was asked about suffering from cancer as a child. The former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion revealed that he didn’t want to be known as “the cancer guy” in wrestling, so he never brings it up.
However, he had the motivation to beat the illness if he wanted to achieve his goal of becoming a professional wrestler.
“I don’t know why I’m laughing about that—it’s serious. No, that was a tough time,” Matt Cardona said. “This is going to sound cliché, but I knew I had to beat that to become a pro wrestler. I never wanted to be… I just didn’t want to be the ‘cancer guy.’ I’m not ashamed of it by any means, but I didn’t want my career to be like, ‘Oh, that’s the cancer guy.'”
Matt Cardona Is Focusing On Making Himself Better
In October, Matt Cardona highlighted how he was still passionate about the business, and there was a lot more that he wanted to do. Speaking with Justin Barrasso for Undisputed, he emphasized that he was focused on being better.
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. I still love it, I’m still a fan,” Matt Cardona said. “I still collect wrestling figures. F-ck, we make them now, too. I still watch the shows. It’s what I do, it’s who I am. There is still so much more I want to accomplish. If someone in WWE or AEW calls me, we’ll talk. But that’s not where I’m at. I am focused on making tomorrow better than today. I can’t be bitter. I’m too focused on being better.”
“There is no more complete wrestler in the game. I’m here to bust my a** and give you the match of the night.”
