Felix Upton on May 10, 2020
Matt Cardona is no longer Zack Ryder. He was released from WWE on April 15th like so many others, but the company didn’t go about it in quite the same way for him.
Personal communications were sent out to employees notifying them if they were released on that day. Phone calls were done if someone was getting released and text messages were for furloughed people like producers and other backstage workers. Cardona didn’t receive either for a while. His WWE contract was up in August and Ryder was afraid WWE would make him sit at home.
As Matt Cardona revealed to Chris Van Vliet, WWE made him wait it out a bit during the releases. He already had an idea that it was coming when he saw the initial video from Vince McMahon. He immediately opened up a PW Tees store even before he was let go, but to get his WWE release he actually had to call them.
“Okay, so let’s talk serious for a second. So we all, that morning, we got — I say ‘we,’ everybody in WWE got this group text message like ‘Hey, check your talent app. There’s a video to watch’ or something like that. The verbiage might be — you know, it was something like that. And it was a video from Vince McMahon talking about the state of the company and the state of the world. And basically saying that layoffs would be coming. So I mean, I’m a smart guy. I’m like, ‘Okay, ProWrestlingTees.com/MattCordona, let’s set it up right now!’ Like, I already had it set up. I had my logo guys making logos, Pro Wrestling Tees making logos for me. Like, I knew it was coming. I mean, I didn’t know but I had a pretty good idea.”
“It was weird because, you know, [Curt] Hawkins got the phone call, Heath [Slater], [Luke] Gallows, [Karl] Anderson. I’m like, ‘Why aren’t they calling me?’ I’m like, ‘Are they gonna make me sit home until August and just let me rot?’ I’m like, ‘Oh my god, no, please! Please call me, please!’ And actually, I had to call to get released, because I got a text. ‘Oh, can you please call us, we’ve got to talk.’ So I actually called to get released. [laughs]”
Matt Cardona already has new entrance music and ring gear. He can’t wait to get out there and move on with his career. Everyone else in the pro wrestling world is excited for a day when the indies are open once again so we can return to a day of thriving business.
Cardona has no intentions but to be “alwayz ready” which is evident by how prepared he was for his own WWE release.
Should WWE have figured out a way to use Zack Ryder more effectively? Sound off in the comments below!
May 10, 2020 9:15 am
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