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WrestleMania 35 was a historical event in WWE's books as it was the last one-night event for the promotion, and the company decided to make the event a two-night special in the coming year. A former Tag Team Champion recently spoke about the original plans for the event, which was not for The Revival to lose the titles.
In 2019, The Revival slowly reached the top of the card after winning the RAW Tag Team Championships nearly two years after they made their main roster debut on WWE RAW. However, the title win didn't last long, as they dropped the titles to the Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins team at WrestleMania 35.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Matt Cardona (FKA Zack Ryder) spoke about the original plans for WrestleMania 35:
"We'd just gotten back together as a team and I wanted to pitch, what if we were the last two guys in the Andre Battle Royale and I would sacrifice myself? He gets a big win in his hometown. At the time, for some reason, you had to like pitch your outfit. He [Hawkins] pitched like some sorts of Jets-theme outfit. All of a sudden, we went in and he said yes, to the gear and no, to the Battle Royale. A couple days later, we get a phone call, 'Hey it's going to be you guys vs The Revival for the titles at WrestleMania."
The original plans were for Ryder and Curt Hawkins to be in the Battle Royale, which was changed to a title win against The Revival.
Matt Cardona on never returning to WWE as Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder was a popular WWE character who accomplished much under the promotion during his decade-plus tenure with the company. Later, he decided to leave WWE and redefined himself on the independent circuit.
However, Matt Cardona is nowhere near the family-friendly character he portrayed in Vince McMahon's company. Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Cardona said about how he doesn't want to ever return to WWE as Zack Ryder:
"I'm forever grateful for that time. It set me up for who I am today. But it's over. Zack Ryder is dead. And if I ever want to go back to WE if it was up to me, it'd be as Matt Cardona."
Cardona is still working on the independent circuit.
What are your thoughts on Matt Cardona? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
