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Matt Cardona made his AEW in-ring debut Wednesday night and it was a victorious one. He hit radio silence to get the win for Cody and himself over Alex Reynolds and John Silver of the Dark Order. A rock solid start to what Cardona hopes is a very successful run in AEW.
Wednesday night was the first match outside of WWE for Matt Cardona in 15 years. He spent the last decade and half wrestling as Zack Ryder before his release from the company in April. Always ready for an opportunity, Cardona is ready to take the ball and run in AEW. However, had he taken the advice of one of his colleagues, he may have gotten the chance to shine a lot sooner.
Chris Jericho talked about Matt Cardona on his Saturday Night Special this past weekend, and said he told him to leave WWE and try his hand elsewhere years ago.
"There comes a point in time when you can't just be a punching bag anymore and he's far too good for that. He looks like a Million bucks, he knows how to work, he's very solid in the ring. He's very creative. He just needs some confidence. He just needs a chance and I'm really excited that Cody and Tony decided to give him a shot and I know I would love to work with him."
That's quite the endorsement from one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Matt Cardona's run in WWE was not short on success. He captured both the United States and Intercontinental Championships as well as multiple Tag Team Titles, but it was clear the company just wasn't fully convinced he could be anything more than a mid-level guy.
Matt Cardona is only 35 and appears to be in the best shape of his life. He has a lot of years ahead of him to prove WWE wrong, but does he regret staying with the company for so long? The short answer is no.
Matt Cardona has zero regrets about staying in WWE for so long
Ahead of his AEW Dynamite debut, Sportskeeda had the chance to chat with Matt Cardona and we asked him if he regrets not listening to Chris Jericho's advice. He says the past is not something he's not going to spend a lot of time dwelling upon.
"I do not live in regrets... I live in the future, in the present, never in the past. You know? You can learn from the past, but I never, I never think like, what if or why didn't I do that? Uh, you know, because what's the point you can't change it."
Cardona also acknowledged the elephant in the room. That being his real life friendship with Cody Rhodes. It's easy to point to their "bromance" as the reason for Matt Cardona winding up in AEW, but he's out to prove that he brings a lot to the table. It's not about proving anyone wrong though.
"I’m sure there's some haters out there. He's Cody's friend, he's the ex WWE guy, whatever. I don't, I don't deal with the haters. I don't care about proving haters wrong. I want to prove my supporters right. That's what this is all about."
Matt Cardona also made it clear in an interview after the show last night that his real life friendship with Cody will continue on screen as well as off of it.
Whether it be in a tag team with Cody or as a singles competitor, Matt Cardona has some lofty goals for his run in AEW. He's coming for all the gold, including the TNT Championship that is currently around the waist of his best friend. All his needs is an opportunity.
"Everything happens for a reason. And my, my catchphrase is "always ready". It's a cute little hashtag, it's all my trunks. Uh, my theme music says it, but it's legit. And that's how I made, you know, that's how I made a living. Uh, for all these years is always being ready whenever I got an opportunity. And AEW is the ultimate opportunity."
Cardona is working on a short term, per appearance deal, at the moment. However, he expressed confidence to Sportskeeda that a long term deal will get done eventually.
