Posted on 5/15/125 by Colin Vassallo
Matt Cardona stopped by Insight with Chris Van Vliet for an
80-minute interview which covered a wide-variety of subjects
including about a possible WWE return, being open to
returning as Zack Ryder, his wife Chelsea Green, the
possibility of accepting an AEW contract and more.
On possibly finding a way back to WWE or AEW:
“I’ve said this a million times. When I got released, it
wasn’t like, ‘What can I do to get back to WWE or get to
AEW?’ It was what can I do to prove myself right? And, oh my
God, even saying that again and again and again. For five
years, I’ve been saying that I don’t want to prove people
wrong, I want to prove myself right and my fans right. It
makes me sick to say because I feel like I’ve said it so
many times, but it’s the truth. I feel like I have. But man,
like, what else do we need to do to get back there?”
On whether he is surprised that he hasn’t returned:
“Honestly? Yeah. But obviously I’m missing something, I
don’t know what it is. Listen, people say to me all the
time, especially since we just had WrestleMania, WrestleCon.
Thousands of people, probably every other fan, if not every
fan, ‘When are you coming back?’ Well, it’s not up to me. Or
at the WrestleMania Hotel. Thanks Chelsea for letting me
stay in a hotel room for free. Saved me some money. Great
hotel. Great Steakhouse, too.
But so many people from the office or other wrestlers, ‘Hey,
man, when are you coming back?’ It’s like, I don’t know.
I’ve reached out many times. I shouldn’t say many, a few
times, every couple of months when something cool happens or
I have something to say, hey, look what I’m doing. There’s
been no offer. [Do they write you back?] Of course.
Everything’s very nice, professional, but there’s no offer.
And you know what? It is what it is, I’m gonna keep working
my ass off.”
On a possible Royal Rumble return as Zack Ryder:
“I’ve had gear ready every single year. So this is the
truth. I always have gear. I’m always ready. I always have
gear where the trunks are the same, but the knee pads are
interchangeable, the ZR or an MC.”
On not being opposed to returning as Zack Ryder:
“It’s not my first choice. I think Zack Ryder is dead, and I
don’t mean that in a negative way. Zack Ryder set me up for
Matt Cardona. But I mean, obviously WWE thought Zack Ryder
was dead. They fired me five years ago. My Matt Cardona
name, I feel like I’ve done these interviews for five years.
And again, this is like how many times have I said this? But
I don’t care how you define success, money, accolades,
happiness, this is the most successful I’ve ever been in my
career as Matt Cardona, but it’s because Zack Ryder and WWE
set me up for that.”
On whether he would accept an AEW contract:
“If it made sense. I don’t want to be anywhere just to be a
guy on the roster. I know there’s no guarantees in pro
wrestling, but I need intent like, ‘We see you doing this,
or we envision you being here.’ I don’t want to just collect
a check. Been there, done that.”