Matt Cardona Q&A: Internet Championship, Plans For His Wrestling Career
Matt Cardona is no stranger to social media. The man formerly known as Zack Ryder is a pioneer in utilizing the Internet to connect with (and build) his fan base.
Cardona held a Q&A session on Instagram over the weekend. He answered a wide variety of questions from fans, including his time in WWE and the next chapter of his wrestling career.
WWE released over 20 wrestlers last month. Among the talent let go were Cardona and longtime partner Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins). The duo wrestled together on-and-off for many years. They continue to host the Major Figure Wrestling Podcast together.
Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins achieved championship success together in WWE, but Matt Cardona says he plans to venture out on his own in the months ahead.
When asked about the possibility of keeping their team together, Cardona says he and Myers have already agreed to go their separate ways. He would consider reuniting with Myers as a special attraction, but he’s looking forward to resuming his singles career.
“We are not teaming,” he said. “We are not teaming anywhere unless one of the things we want to do is … e’d like to put on live wrestling shows. I would love to team with him in that environment. Or I’d love to wrestle like the Rock N’ Roll Express or the Headbangers. But other than that, we’re going our own separate ways.”
Back in 2011, not many pro wrestlers were using the Internet to connect with fans. WWE’s creative team did not have much for Zack Ryder, so Matt Cardona took it upon himself to develop the character independently. Before Being The Elite, we had Zack Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story.
The show was groundbreaking. WWE had no choice but to feature Zack Ryder more on television due to the show’s popularity. To commemorate the success, Zack Ryder created his own championship belt: the Internet Championship. He saw opportunity and merchandise dollar signs – if only WWE would allow him to wear the belt on television. Unfortunately, those requests were repeatedly denied.
“I was denied and I was told that I’m a mark for myself, which isn’t true,” he said. “I explained. Just like the Million Dollar Championship, right? It’s an accessory. It’s cool because with a gimmick and you could have sold these things. You could have made a killing selling these things, the foam, the replicas. But that did not happen.”
The belt did appear in video games and as an accessory to some of his action figures. But he never got to wear in on TV. Cardona bemoaned, “I think there was some money lost, a lot of money lost.”
Matt Cardona called the Internet Championship, “definitely my most prized possession.”
