Matt Cardona was released by WWE in 2020, but he went on to become an even bigger star on the independent circuit. Cardona has since made his return to WWE, and he is actually thankful to the company for releasing him.
“I hate to say it was the greatest day of my life, getting fired from my dream job, but it was,” Cardona admitted during an interview on “Casuals with Katie Nolan” alongside his wife, Chelsea Green. He then noted that he realized he needed a change, as he had been with WWE for 15 years and needed to find himself outside of the promotion. “I reinvented myself. I was doing shows all over the world, and found out who Matt Cardona [is].”
He further expressed that he didn’t want to just take his Zack Ryder character with him and be the same person with a different name. Instead, he decided to reestablish himself entirely. Later on, Green was also released from WWE, which Cardona noted allowed her to travel with him all over the world. “We were like this hated couple all over the world,” he said.
Naturally, Cardona was happy when Green returned to WWE, but it meant he had to focus on himself again. “I just kept continuing to reinvent and reinvent until, essentially got back to WWE,” he noted. Green then weighed in, sharing how Cardona’s character in WWE meant nobody had faith that he could be a bad guy. “When he was released, it was the perfect time to show the world: look what you’ve missed out on!” she said, pointing out how important it is for a wrestler to not get stuck as a heel or babyface.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Casuals with Katie Nolan,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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