New Backstage Details On Matt Cardona's WWE Release & Non-Compete Clause

Impact's Matt Cardona tells all on the bizarre circumstances surrounding his WWE departure.

by Andy H Murray
Matt Cardona
AEW

When interviewed by Fightful Select earlier this week, Matt Cardona revealed that his WWE non-compete clause ran out only one month before his original contract was set to expire.

The former Zack Ryder's deal was up in August 2020. Having previously turned down the promotion's offer of a new one in July 2019, Cardona was cut loose as part of WWE's mass personnel cuts on 15 April 2020. This meant he was bound to a standard 90-day non-compete clause lasting until that July.

So essentially, WWE only saved paying Cardona a few weeks' wages by releasing him in April.

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Cardona didn't shoot on his old promotion after leaving. One of his first post-release interviews saw him claim he blamed "nobody but himself" for losing his push in Stamford, choosing to stay positive at what could potentially have been the most disappointing period of his career.

Now with Impact Wrestling, Cardona is reportedly working without a full-time contract. He did the same for All Elite Wrestling in summer 2020, working a five-date run as Cody Rhodes and The Nightmare Family's ally in a feud with The Dark Order, culminating at All Out 2020.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.