Matt Cardona now knows exactly when his WWE comeback hit another roadblock, and the footage of the injury has finally aired.
Cardona is currently recovering after undergoing surgery for a torn triceps, but the match where the injury happened aired on the September 3 episode of WWE Main Event. Following the broadcast, Cardona shared the footage and walked fans through the exact sequence where he realized something was seriously wrong.
Cardona said the first warning came after hitting a dropkick from the second rope. At first, he tried to convince himself that something he had done hundreds of times couldn’t possibly have caused a serious injury.
“Here’s the footage of me tearing my tricep during a match against @KitWilson_PD. I hit my dropkick off the second rope and something didn’t feel right. But there’s no way I could hurt myself on a move I’ve done hundreds of times…right?”
Things didn’t improve after that. Cardona said another spot felt strange before the reality of the situation finally became impossible to ignore.
“Then I closelined him over the top rope and that felt weird too. Once I grabbed the rope for my baseball slide, I knew I tore my tricep.”
Despite knowing something had gone wrong, Cardona finished the match. He later acknowledged that injuries come with the territory and made it clear he has no intention of letting this one end his WWE run.
“Injuries suck, but they are part of the job. I’m recovering after surgery and start rehab today. I’ll be back. I’M NOT FINISHED.”
That declaration lines up perfectly with what Cardona has already said about his recovery timeline. His surgeon told him to expect around five months on the sidelines, but Cardona has already set his sights on returning much sooner. When asked how long he expects to be out, Cardona made his goal crystal clear.
“The surgeon said five. I’m gonna try to do it in three.”
Cardona explained that he’s beaten recovery estimates before because of how aggressively he approaches rehab. Sitting at home and collecting a paycheck isn’t something that appeals to him. That means Cardona is treating rehab like another job and plans to see if he can cut two months off the recovery estimate.
“I got back from my other injuries faster because I’m busting my ass. I don’t want this vacation. I don’t—some people like sitting home getting their check. I don’t like that. No. I like to hustle. I like to work.”
“So, uh, I’ll be working my ass off to get back, uh, in three months or so.”
Cardona underwent surgery on August 25 after revealing the torn triceps on August 23. He had initially left open the possibility that surgery might not be necessary, but that changed once he went into the hospital for the procedure.
The timing couldn’t have been much worse. Cardona had recently worked his way back into WWE and even faced GUNTHER on the August 14 episode of SmackDown before the injury brought his momentum to a sudden stop.
Now fans have seen exactly how it happened, and Cardona’s reaction makes one thing obvious: he knew before the match was even over that something was badly wrong. Surgery may have temporarily taken him out of action, but Cardona clearly isn’t treating this like the end of his comeback story.
Do you think Matt Cardona can beat the five-month recovery timeline and make it back to WWE in three months? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
