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Matt Cardona (formerly known as Zack Ryder) has revealed that WWE disallowed him from using the baseball slide move because Ronda Rousey was using it. Cardona said he was told not to do it despite not being on the same show as Rousey.
Matt Cardona is currently part of IMPACT Wrestling, having joined the promotion earlier this year after a short stint with AEW. Cardona was released by WWE last year as part of their COVID budget cuts.
In an interview with Inside The Ropes, Cardona revealed how a WWE producer told him not to use the baseball slide ahead of a match on Main Event or Superstars. The IMPACT star was unhappy about not being allowed to perform a simple move like the baseball slide.
“I was having a match before RAW, so Main Event or Superstars or whatever it’s called. And my producer told me I couldn’t do a baseball slide to the floor because Ronda Rousey was doing it two hours later on RAW. I can understand if you’re saying I can’t put Mike Kanellis through the announce table on Main Event. OK I get it. But I can’t do a baseball slide?! We’re talking about a baseball slide here! Because Ronda Rousey is doing a baseball slide? You think anybody is thinking in the arena, ‘Oh, Zack Ryder did that baseball slide two hours ago’? Like, come on!”
In the same interview, Cardona spoke about the lack of creative freedom in WWE and how AEW offered him a lot more creative freedom.
Ronda Rousey's brief WWE career
Ronda Rousey was a full-time WWE performer for just over a year, with her first match coming at WrestleMania 34 and her final match a year later at WrestleMania 35.
She was the RAW Women's Champion on one occasion, which she lost at The Show of Shows in 2019. A report earlier this year stated that Ronda Rousey was training, but there's been no indication as to when she will return to WWE.
