Matt Cardona: "WWE Was My Developmental"

In which the former Zack Ryder stokes social media fires.

By Andy H Murray /

GCW

In a tweet sure to draw a very normal reaction across the board, Matt Cardona has declared that WWE was his "developmental."

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Here's the man himself:-

Those images are of some of Cardona's most notable triumphs since departing the world's biggest wrestling promotion in April 2020. In the first, he is clutching the Game Changer Wrestling World Championship after making his deathmatch bow opposite Nick Gage in July 2021. In the second, he wears a jacket pilfered from new rival Effy in GCW, while the third was taken after his assault of NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch at Hards Times 2 last weekend.

The 36-year-old has reinvented himself in 2021, particularly in GCW, where he plays a goofy sports entertainment invader in contrast with the promotion's blood-and-booze-soaked stylings.

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On top of GCW and now the NWA, Cardona remains active in IMPACT Wrestling, where he has worked since January.

As Zack Ryder, Cardona was a 14-year WWE veteran prior to his departure, having brought into the Deep South Wrestling developmental territory in February 2006. His run there peaked in 2011 and 2012, when he got himself over through self-promotion and his Z! True Long Island Story web series.

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