Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder in WWE, made his debut with All Elite Wrestling last week by saving Cody Rhodes from a surprise attack by The Dark Order. Since then Cardona has been booked for his first match (a tag team match with Rhodes against Alex Reynolds and John Silver), released his first AEW t-shirt and revealed that he’s only on a short-term contract with the company (at least for now). In a new interview with TV Insider this week, Cardona revealed what his goals are for is time with the promotion, however long it may be.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“I did not get into AEW to not be the TNT Champion,” Cardona said. “To not be the AEW Champion. To not have an action figure. Right now we might be on a per date, but there are definitely long-term plans.”
He also addressed why he didn’t arrive with any sort of new gimmick.
“It’s 2020 with the social media,” Cardona said. “I’m not going to be coming out with this brand new Oscar Award-winning character. I’m Matt Cardona. If you follow me on social media and see me on TV, you’ll know who I am. I’m a big kid who loves action figures. I also love my cats. At the end of the day, I also love this business. When that bell rings, I want to make an impression. This is my opportunity to make an impression. I don’t’ care about proving the doubters and haters wrong. I want to prove my supporters right. This is my chance to prove everyone who has ever supported me right.”
He also described his friendship with Rhodes, as the pair are close outside of the business.
“It’s funny because Cody and I were not friends,” Cadona said. “We broke into the business at the same time. We were kind of like competition for each other. Not that we hated each other by any means. It’s with any job. Some people you’re friends with and some people you’re not. He was one of the people I wasn’t friends with. I don’t know how we figured it out, but we both realized we loved theme parks. Then there was this new Harry Potter world Diagon Alley opening up at Universal Studios. We went together. That was the first time we really hung out outside of work. The next thing we know we’re going to theme parks all the time together and are best friends.”
Here’s the lineup for tonight’s AEW Dynamite:
- AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
- Cody Rhodes & Matt Cardona vs. John Silver & Alex Reynolds
- Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks & FTR vs. The Dark Order
- The Best Friends vs. Satana & Ortiz
- Big Swole vs. TBA
- MJF Speech
- Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy (Debate)
