Matt Cardona Addresses Rumor AEW Didn’t Sign Him Due to Ridiculous Asking Price

Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder during his time in WWE, never realized his full potential in the company. He was subsequently released back in 2020 and in the years since, he has completely transformed his career. With that said, Cardona has now addressed a rumor as to why AEW didn’t sign him.

Following his 90-day non-compete clause expiration, Cardona wrestled in two matches for AEW on an episode of Dynamite and the All Out 2020 pay-per-view. Despite his appearances, he wasn’t offered a contract by the promotion and later joined Impact Wrestling before diving into an indie circuit highlighted by a memorable Deathmatch against Nick Gage in GCW, leading to his “King of the indies” run.

While speaking with Kenny McIntosh for Issue 46 of Inside The Ropes Magazine, Cardona revealed his initial disappointment at not securing a contract with AEW. Reflecting on the situation, he believed he performed well, with his merchandise ranking as the top seller. However, not receiving an offer left him devastated at the time, feeling it limited his options for building his name further. He opted to wait until the world reopened rather than settle for independent shows with social distancing measures.

Looking back, Cardona acknowledged that not signing with AEW turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It allowed him to explore the independent scene more fully once conditions improved the following year.

“I’m not sure [why I didn’t receive a contract]. I thought I delivered on the shows. My merch was the number one shirt of the week. At the time I was devastated that I did not get offered a contract, I absolutely was, because there was nowhere else to go and build my name. I’m sure I could have found an independent that was running with social distancing but that’s not what I wanted to do. So I wanted to wait until the world opened back up.”

“When AEW didn’t work out for me at the time, I was absolutely devastated. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise, but it wasn’t until the world opened up the following year that I was just dipping my toe in the independent scene, so to speak.”

Addressing a rumor that he demanded “Sting money” from AEW, Cardona denied the speculation, emphasizing it was never his intention or negotiation stance. He laughed off the absurdity of the rumor, confirming it wasn’t something he ever discussed with AEW officials.

“Hey, that actually was a rumor. I don’t think I’ve ever said this publicly, but that was actually a rumour about why I didn’t get hired in AEW. Apparently—first of all, this is not true—I’m not sure if this was said but this definitely didn’t come out of my g***** mouth: I heard one of the reasons I wasn’t signed to AEW was because I was asking for “Sting money”. That’s the rumour I’ve heard, which is such a ridiculous thing that I have to laugh about it. We’ve never even talked about it.”

Matt Cardona did make his return to AEW during a previous episode of Collision to square off against Adam Copeland. Regardless, we will have to wait and see if he will ever become a member of the AEW roster one day.

Do you believe Matt Cardona should make his way back to AEW and get signed to the company? Let us know in the comments section below!