Former Champion On Post-WWE Transformation: ‘Goofy S**t Had To Change’

WWE

Matt Cardona has discussed his post-WWE transformation, noting that he knew his ‘woo woo woo goofy s**t’ had to change, even while with WWE.

Cardona reinvented himself after leaving WWE in 2020, with the former Internet Champion going on to become an NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, and a Deathmatch King.

Speaking with Matt Hardy, Cardona discussed the changes he made to his in-ring character, noting:

“So even before I got let go from WWE, I knew the woo woo woo goofy s**t had to change. I stopped wearing the headband, the glasses, got in great shape, and grew the beard.

“It’s like, you could pitch stuff all day, but you don’t write the show. I don’t have the pencil. I can try my best to express who I want to be, but unless you’re portrayed that way on television, it’s just not going to work.

“Not that I had handcuffs on, but when I was released by WWE, the handcuffs were off and I could just be me and try anything and throw it against the wall.

“I wish I could say this is all calculated, but it wasn’t. I was just f**king trying anything and taking any booking I could.

“When that GCW deathmatch got presented to me, I said, ‘No f**king way. I’m not wrestling this f**king guy, this f**king criminal, this guy who’s on Dark Side of the Ring.

“There’s no f**king way I’m doing this backyard s**t. Then I took a step back and I said, ‘Well, it will definitely create some buzz. People are gonna want to see Zack Ryder get carved up by Nick Gage.’

“I didn’t anticipate how much buzz it would create and it changed everything for me. It changed my career, my life. That’s what I needed.

“That was the step that I needed to change from what people thought of Zack Ryder to the new Matt Cardona.”

Following speculation that Cardona and his wife Chelsea Green were WWE-bound, Green made her WWE return in last month’s Royal Rumble match.

Transcription via WrestlingNews.co. 

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• matt cardona
• zack ryder
• GCW
• wwe

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