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Former WWE Intercontinental Matt Cardona recently took massive shots at one of his NWA Hard Times 2022 opponents Trevor Murdoch.
Since his release from WWE in 2020, Cardona has shined on the independent circuit, wrestling for multiple promotions, including NWA. He even captured the NWA World Championship from Trevor Murdoch in February earlier this year. However, Cardona was forced to vacate the title in June owing to an injury.
Matt Cardona is now motivated to win the title back at Hard Times 2022, where he challenged Murdoch to a triple-threat match, also featuring Tyrus. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, the former WWE star made it clear that he plans to walk out with the gold at the November 12th event.
Cardona, previously known as Zack Ryder, believes the National Wrestling Alliance needs him to be their World Champion, not Murdoch or Tyrus.
"I don't care who's in this match. I don't care if they had Billy Corgan (NWA owner) himself in the match. My plan is to walk out the winner. Tyrus thinks he deserves to be the champion, Trevor thinks he deserves to be the champion, I think I deserve to be the champion, but I need to be the champion, and NWA needs me to be the champion. I mean, Trevor, he's a great competitor inside those ropes, bell to bell, he's great, but what has he done as champion since I had to relinquish it?" said Matt Cardona
He also took shots at Trevor Murdoch, saying unlike him, the 42-year-old didn't wrestle for other promotions and wondered if he even ventured out of his home.
"He's done absolutely nothing. Does he take any bookings outside of NWA? He's certainly not traveling the world, I don't even know if he even leaves his house, to be honest. So, Tyrus, on the other hand, he brings it on FOX, he brings some national, worldwide attention, so I get that. But the NWA knows I should be the champion, I think they know that. They should know that, added Matt Cardona. (0:55 - 1:44)
Check out the full video below:
Former WWE star Matt Cardona recently took credit for AEW's formation
A few days back, in an interview, Cardona stated that if not for his Z! True Long Island Story show on the WWE network, there would be no AEW. He then went on to explain that Being The Elite, The Young Bucks' long-running vlog, which set the base for AEW's foundation, was directly inspired by Z! True Long Story.
"It changed the business. Tell me that 'Z True Long Island Story' didn't change the business... All these kids vlogging about BTE, you know, that started AEW. So, really, I'm responsible for AEW... Without 'Z True Long Island Story' there would be no BTE and there would be no AEW," Matt Cardona said
For those unaware, Cardona made a handful of appearances for AEW in 2020 after his WWE release, but that didn't translate into a long-term association.
Do you think Matt Cardona has a shot at winning the NWA World Title at Hard Times 2022? Sound off in the comments section below.
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