Matt Cardona has said that his infamous death match against Nick Gage in GCW was the defining moment of his indie run and that he would not be sitting back in WWE today if that match had never happened.
Speaking on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast, Cardona reflected on the decision to do the match, which took place in Atlantic City a few months into his time on the independent circuit after being released from WWE in 2020. He said he knew it would generate attention but had no idea how much.
“I thought about it, like, people are gonna want to see Zack Ryder get carved up by Nick Gage,” Cardona said. “I knew it would create buzz, but I did not anticipate the amount of buzz it would create. It changed my career. It changed my life.”
Cardona said the match trended number one on social media, beating out the Olympics for attention. “That match trended number one over the Olympics and it was an independent wrestling show in Atlantic City, New Jersey,” Cardona said. “Whether people bought tickets or just wanted to read about it or see it on Twitter, they had to look.”
He said he approached the match with total commitment rather than caution, including wearing all white to ensure the blood would be visually striking. “I did a cannonball into that death match,” Cardona said. “It wasn’t a street fight. There were pizza cutters, glass, light tubes. If I was gonna do it, I was gonna do it. I wore a white T-shirt, but that white shirt was maroon afterwards, just covered in blood.”
Cardona said he has no regrets about the decision. “Not one day goes by where I regret it,” Cardona said. “In the moment I knew this is going to change my career. I don’t think I’d be sitting here if it wasn’t for that match. I don’t think I’d be back in WWE if it wasn’t for that match.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit What Do You Wanna Talk About with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
