Matt Cardona Trolls Fans Amidst WWE Return Rumors

By Liam Crowley

Matt Cardona is in the middle of the run of his career. After being released by WWE in April 2020, Cardona hit the independent scene and became a belt collector. The former Zack Ryder won world championships in Game Changer Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, and a number of smaller promotions across the globe. Cardona's popularity skyrocketed him to the No. 13 position on Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual Top 500 Wrestlers list, an astronomical rise from his 297 spot a year prior. All of these factors combined with new WWE creative head Paul "Triple H" Levesque bringing back dozens of former stars has led to speculation on Cardona's wrestling future.

This past weekend, Cardona returned to Absolute Intense Wrestling to address the fans.

"Over the past two and a half years, I have busted my a-- to reinvent myself," Cardona said. "I busted my a-- not to prove the doubters wrong, but to prove each and every one of you right, prove to myself that I'm a top guy, and that's exactly what I did."

Cardona continued on the microphone by bringing up the rumblings, teasing that he had an announcement to make.

"I know you guys have read the dirt sheets. You've seen the rumors," Cardona continued. "I am proud to announce that the rumors are true. I know what you're thinking, but I've talked to the boss and he's assured me that things are going to be different this time."

When it was all said and done, that announcement turned out to be a fake, as he set his sights on current AIW Champion Josh Bishop.

"I am happy to announce right here in this very ring, that I am the real AIW Absolute and Intense Champion. I never lost these titles. Josh Bishop, you are fake. You are just holding my titles. You are a wannabe death match wrestler. You are a wannabe big man, and you are a wannabe Matt Cardona."

Cardona went down with a torn bicep earlier this summer, which forced him to relinquish a number of his championships. The self-proclaimed Death Match King made his return to the ring significantly ahead of schedule this past August and has resumed his momentum across the independent circuit.

On top of that, reports of wife Chelsea Green being WWE-bound has led to speculation that Cardona could be joining her. Cardona himself has fueled that fire, sharing caption-less pictures of his time in WWE. ComicBook.com's Liam Crowley directly asked him about the meaning behind the teases earlier this fall, to which Cardona stayed coy.

"I mean, I'm the internet champion for a reason, right?" Cardona said. "I see these reports online, and I play into it. Is it true or false? We'll find out."

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