5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: Backstage plans to turn popular star heel, Vince McMahon canceled WrestleMania match between 2 WWE legends?

#4. Hope is true: Zack Ryder's original plans before WWE release

Matt Cardona.

Matt Cardona, fka Zack Ryder, was a long-tenured servant of WWE. Having spent over a decade in WWE, he could never reach the level that fans hoped he would. The company didn't seem particularly interested in pushing him either.

Ultimately, Zack Ryder's WWE career can be summed up as having a few glorious moments, but most of his time was spent either underutilized or on the sidelines.

Matt Cardona was released by WWE in their mass-firing incident in April 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardona was cut from his contract. A report from Fightful Select revealed that he was going to leave WWE in August 2020 anyway, as that was when his contract expired:

Fightful recently spoke to Matt Cardona, and in a report of Fightful Select, they have now revealed that Cardona was slated to leave WWE in August 2020.

We hope this is true because it would have been better for him to test the waters outside of WWE. Had it not been for the pandemic, he would have likely found an employer quickly as well.