Matt Cardona Recalls Experience Working As Extra For WWE In 2005

Matt Cardona worked a squash match with Matt Morgan as an extra for WWE back in 2005, and he recalled some funny stories from the experience. Cardona didn’t sign with the company until 2006, when he inked a developmental deal. His squash match with Morgan took place on the April 21, 2005, on Smackdown.

Cardona looked back at the experience in his interview on Insight With Chris Van Vliet. He said that he and Brian Myers got on people’s bad side by going in the locker room for the signed male talent, and shared a story about an interaction with Trish Stratus as well. You can check out the highlights below:

On His Experience Before the Match:

“This is before I’m signed. Extra talent. Me and Brian Myers. It’s at Madison Square Garden. I’ve never been extra talent before. I’ve never been backstage at a WWE show before, so we go in. We’re shaking everyone’s hand, right? We know we gotta respect everybody, shake everyone’s hand, the cameraman, the garbage man, people who don’t even work for WWE. We’re shaking their hand. And if you’re backstage at WWE, there’s all these signs of where to go. There was a sign that said ‘Male Talent.’ ‘I guess this is where we go.’ That’s not where we go. So we go in. I remember Hardcore Holly being there. They’re giving us like the death stare. This isn’t good. John Morrison, Johnny Nitro, he had just debuted. He pulled us aside. He’s like, ‘There’s a locker room for guys like you over there.’ The extra talent locker. So we went to the extra talent locker room.

“Here’s another funny story. There are a couple funny stories from that day, so we’re in the extra talent locker room and it was across from the seamstress. So we’re just in there, me and Bryan, and Trish Stratus comes in. She’s like, ‘Hey, do you guys mind if I try this on?’ We’re like, ‘Yeah, go ahead, Trish.’ She was like, ‘Well, can you leave?’ So that was that, and then also, my dad was a New York cop at the time. Flashes badge to get backstage. I’m like, ‘You can’t be here, Dad.’ He ended up getting a ticket, and they let him watch the show. It was fine.”

On the Match:

“But yeah, I wrestled Matt Morgan, squash match. I was so nervous, and I think he might have been more nervous than I was because it was his debut as his stuttering gimmick. We were both equally nervous. I remember. I’ll never forget. He starts to mess up, just shoving me down. We were practicing it backstage and I was just taking balls on the concrete floor.”