Zack Ryder Blames Himself For Losing His WWE Push
Matt Cardona speaks out on his 2011 burial.
The wrestler formerly known as Zack Ryder blames nobody but himself for losing his WWE push back in 2011.
Matt Cardona was a recent guest on SiriusXM's Busted Open Radio, giving the station his first interview since leaving Vince McMahon's promotion as part of Black Wednesday's mass releases (15 April), and was specifically asked about his popularity surge and subsequent demotion following the Z! True Long Island Story YouTube series' success.
"I was so young, so naive," he said. "So I said 'oh, this is part of the plan,' you know? 'I'll wrestle Kane at Blacklash next month!' I wasn't aware enough or mature enough to knock on the boss' door and say 'I'm one of the top merch sellers, I've been busting my ass. Why is this happening?' So I blame nobody but myself for what went down there."
Cardona played down the idea that he was "punished" for getting himself over and generating his own buzz, stating that he could have dealt with it by asking Vince McMahon "what's going on?", but didn't, though he did note that the company never seemed to like that he'd become so popular.
In the end, after over a year's worth of contract negotiations, he was relieved to be let go by the promotion, "because of the anxiety I had for over a year."
Here's to his next move.