Ex-WWE Star Says He Refused To "Beg" AEW For A Contract

This former WWE man wasn't going to "sit there and beg" Tony Khan for an AEW deal.

By Jamie Kennedy /

AEW

Matt Cardona, best-known for his lengthy stint in WWE as Zack Ryder, has said he wasn't going to "sit there and beg" for an AEW contract last year.

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During an interview with the 'Pro Wrestling 4-Life' podcast, Cardona refused to badmouth Tony Khan or AEW. However, he wasn't prepared to bust out his best begging bowl and hang around too long if a full-time deal wasn't forthcoming.

It wasn't.

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Even so, Matt described All Elite as "the place to be", and made sure to note that everybody backstage was super-welcoming to him between July-September 2020; Cardona only worked two matches with AEW. He teamed with Cody Rhodes against Dark Order members Alex Reynolds and John Silver on the 5 August Dynamite (taped on 30 July), then wrestled in an eight-man tag at All Out.

That "little agreement" was short-lived. Khan and other AEW top brass didn't produce a long-term deal for Cardona, and he has since moved on to IMPACT Wrestling. Unlike AEW, they did draw up a contract for the former Intercontinental and United States Champ to sign.

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Cardona doesn't have any regrets about the way things panned out.