Ex-WWE Star Teases Appearing At AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam

Could this major free agent appear for AEW on Wednesday?

by Andrew Pollard
AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Matt Cardona
AEW/IMPACT Wrestling

Could Matt Cardona be set to appear on AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam this coming week?

Friday saw Cardona retain his House of Glory World Title over Homicide, and post-match the former Zack Ryder was attacked by AEW's Mike Santana.

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As picked up on by WrestlingNews.co, this attack was followed by Cardona cutting a promo on Santana and suggesting he may appear on Dynamite this Wednesday.

With AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam taking place from New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium in just a matter of days, Cardona proclaimed:

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"Mike, stay in AEW. First of all, your name is Mike? That's new to me. Stay in AEW, okay? Stay on Saturday nights. Wednesday nights. Stay away from the Indies. And that goes for everybody in AEW. Stay out of my world. I am the Indie God, okay? But Santana, if you want me to come to your show, I can. Well, not on Saturdays because I'm booked, but on Wednesdays I can come, and I'll show you who the true King of New York really is."

Of course, Matt Cardona has previously worked for AEW, for he had a cup of coffee with the promotion in the summer of 2020. That came on the heels of the self-proclaimed Death Match King having been released by WWE that April as part of the market leader's numerous budgets cuts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since departing WWE, Cardona has become one of the hottest names on the independent scene, has had an impressive run with IMPACT Wrestling, and, amongst his many other accolades, also won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

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The one-time Long Island Iced Z has long been rumoured for a WWE return, though the organisation's hiring freeze may have played a part in that not having come to fruition as of yet. That said, the recent re-hiring of Nia Jax, plus the completion of the Endeavour merger, may mean WWE is now more open to doing business in terms of bringing in named talent.

As for AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, despite poor ticket sales, the card is looking extremely stacked, with AEW World Champion MJF vs. Samoa Joe, AEW Women's Champion Saraya vs. Toni Storm, AEW International Champion Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston, and Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.