10 WWE Releases That Actually HELPED A Wrestler

10. Matt Cardona

Matt Cardona
Twitter @TheMattCardona

Zack Ryder was a punchline in WWE at the time of his 2020 release, but he was given a token tag title win alongside longtime friend and fellow jobber Curt Hawkins during the WrestleMania 35 kickoff show. Their reward was to disappear from television and never defend the titles before losing them just 2 months later.

Rather than sulk about his lot, Matt Cardona reinvented himself as the 'Indy God', competing everywhere during a 5-year run away from WWE. He wrestled in bigger promotions such as AEW and Impact/TNA, and made a name for himself competing and winning titles in GCW and NWA, but he also captured gold in Absolute Intense Wrestling, DDT Pro Wrestling, Empire State Wrestling, House of Glory, Arizona Wrestling Federation etc.

Cardona could have coasted off his Ryder persona, but he used that notoriety to his advantage and reinvented himself. His work in GCW, winning their World Title in a deathmatch, earned him praise and set the stage for his work across countless promotions.

Cardona parlayed that success to return to WWE earlier this year, where he has backslid into a jobber role, but he deserves mention here for his work during his stint away from the company.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.