Matt Cardona has revealed that being released by WWE in 2020 felt like an immediate relief, saying the company made a decision for him that he had been unable to make for himself after turning down a five-year contract extension the year before.
Speaking on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast, Cardona said the year leading up to his release had been filled with anxiety as he weighed whether to stay in WWE or leave, and that the release resolved that uncertainty instantly.
“When I got released, it was the very beginning of the pandemic and there was nowhere else to really work,” Cardona said. “The year prior, I don’t say everybody in WWE, but everyone I knew got offered five year new deals, and I didn’t take it, because I didn’t know if I wanted to stay or go. The anxiety for that whole year, am I gonna stay, am I gonna go? When I got fired, it was like they made the decision for me. It was this instant weight off my shoulders.”
Cardona said the release forced a necessary identity reset that could not have happened within the structure of WWE. “I needed to get fired,” Cardona said. “I needed to go out there and find who was Matt Cardona. The Zack Ryder guy was great, I’m so grateful for it, it was awesome. But it had to change, and it wasn’t going to change in that WWE environment.”
Despite having no plan when he was let go and the pandemic shutting down the independent scene entirely, Cardona went on to become one of the most talked about performers in wrestling during his five-year absence, winning the GCW World Championship and reinventing himself as the Death Match King.
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.
