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Matt Cardona Reveals His Dream Was Always To Be A WWE Superstar
Image Credit: WWE
Matt Cardona says his dream was never just to become a professional wrestler. For as long as he can remember, he has wanted to be a WWE Superstar.
Speaking with The Takedown on Sports Illustrated ahead of this week’s SmackDown in Atlantic City, Cardona looked back on his career, his WWE release, and the road that eventually brought him back.
Cardona spent over a decade with WWE as Zack Ryder before being released in 2020. Cardona reinvented himself on the independent circuit, competing around the world and rebuilding his reputation. Looking back, he said those years were the most enjoyable and successful of his career.
“When I got released in 2020, I knew Zack Ryder was dead,” Cardona said. “And as grateful as I was for him, he taught me everything. And WWE taught me everything I needed to become a superstar outside of WWE. That’s what I did. I reinvented myself, rebranded, and had the most fun and the most success I ever had in my career.”
While he enjoyed everything he accomplished on the independent wrestling scene, Cardona said WWE remained the place he always wanted to be. He noted that while he loved wrestling on the independent scene, winning the WWE Championship is only possible if you’re in WWE.
“But the goal was always to be WWE Champion. You can’t be WWE Champion unless you’re in WWE. As awesome as the independents were, I wanted to wrestle on SmackDown. I wanted to wrestle in Madison Square Garden again, or have a WrestleMania moment … My dream was never to be a pro wrestler. My dream was to be a WWE Superstar.”
After five years away, Matt Cardona came back to WWE in 2025 and officially re-signed in 2026. Since then, he has been performing on SmackDown.
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) July 2, 2026
