Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) Debuts On AEW Dynamite
Cody got the assist from an old friend last night...
It looks like the wrestler formerly known as Zack Ryder is now All Elite.
Matt Cardona debuted on last night's episode of AEW Dynamite, saving his old friend Cody from a Dark Order beatdown. This happened after 'The American Nightmare' had defeated independent standout Warhorse to retain his TNT Championship. The Order's John Silver and Alex Reynolds jumped Cody after the bell, quickly overcoming him before Cardona emerged from the back, helped the TNT Champion clear out the bad guys, then stood tall to close the segment.
There's no word on whether or not Cardona has officially been signed by yet, though the promotion quickly pumping out merchandise for him suggests this is the case.
This is likely something that has been in the works for a while. Cardona is a close associate of Cody from their time in WWE together, and his release led to immediate speculation of him showing up in AEW, whose officials talked up the prospect in the media. Let go by WWE on 15 April, his non-compete clause didn't expire until 15 July, hence why we hadn't seen him earlier.
Cardona's first AEW match comes next week, when he and Cody face Silver and Reynolds.