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Matt Cardona: 'I'm Legit Shocked' On Not Being Signed To A Deal With WWE Or AEW (Exclusive)

Are you shocked Matt Cardona is still on the indepedent scene?

Steven Muelhausen

Paul Walter Hauser drilling Matt Cardona with a steel chair
Paul Walter Hauser drilling Matt Cardona with a steel chair / Roland Lugo

For the past three-plus years, the biggest name on the independent scene has been Matt Cardona. Wrestling fans have seen different versions of Cardona since being released by WWE in April 2020.

Rather quickly, Cardona shed the Zack Ryder label during his short but successful AEW run beginning in July 2020 and his on-again, off-again stints for TNA. Then Cardona took a different turn to cement himself as the must-book talent for promotions outside of WWE and AEW when he debuted for GCW in June 2021 to begin a memorable feud with Nick Gage. Their death match the following month was the No. 1 trend on Twitter over the Summer Olympics and a UFC event, and The Death Match King" and "The Indy God" came to be.

Cardona returned to AEW on the March 30 edition of Collsion to accept the "Cope Open" against TNT champion Adam Copeland. Cardona, who lost the match, received a giant reaction with the video on AEW's Twitter generating over 1.5 million views. Even with his growing popularity, it leaves Cardona baffled that he still hasn't been signed by WWE or AEW.

“Listen, I’ll be completely honest. I don’t know what the f— is going on [laughs]," Cardona admits to The Takedown. "I’ve done everything there is to do. I am legit shocked I have not gotten an offer from any company, and that’s not me being egotistical. That’s me being realistic. I’ve done all there is [to do]. What else can I possibly do?

“But I can’t let this run be fueled by bitterness or negativity. It was never, ‘Oh, I gotta prove people wrong.’ It was, ‘I’ve gotta prove my fans right,’ and I feel like I have done that. But I think the second you get bitter, the second you get angry is where you lose yourself, and I’m not gonna let this run be fueled by negativity. I’m not going to let it be fueled by trying to prove myself right, and I feel like I have. But there’s more to prove.”

Cardona returned to action in August at GCW Homecoming after being out for four months due to a torn pec. But Cardona came back under a persona titled "The Complete".

But the question is what does Cardona need to prove at this stage of the game since he's done just about everything he can as a free agent, and has lived the life of true independent contractor with stops in AEW and TNA?

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"That’s a great question," Cardona admits. "What is left to prove on the independents? I’ve done it all. Besides just reinventing myself and becoming bigger than I was in WWE, I’ve done everything there is to do on the indies and then some. So what is next? I feel like I need to sign a contract somewhere, but at the same time, I don’t want to sign a contract just to sign a contract. I don’t want to be on a roster just to be a guy on a roster. Been there, done that.

“Listen, if WWE or AEW called and there was a good offer with some intent to use me a certain way, of course, I’d have that conversation. But I’m not gonna BS, I haven’t gotten an offer from either of those companies. So until then, I just gotta keep raising my stock and elevating myself, and trying to change the game on the independent level. I’ve said it many times, I’m not trying to pass the torch to anybody, I’m trying to light a new one for myself, and I feel like I have."

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Steven Muelhausen
STEVEN MUELHAUSEN

: Steven Muehlhausen is a veteran combat sports writer for various outlets including Sporting News and Yahoo Sports. He can be reached at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com and followed on Twitter @SMuehlhausenJr.

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