Jump to content

Matt Cardona

Page protected with pending changes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Eteethan (talk | contribs) at 11:44, 24 November 2024 (Reverted 1 pending edit by 79.77.183.213 to revision 1257095829 by Jevansen: No source). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.

(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Matt Cardona
Cardona in 2022
Birth nameMatthew Brett Cardona
Born (1985-05-14) May 14, 1985 (age 39)
Merrick, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)
(m. 2021)
Websitemattcardona.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Brett Major[1]
  • Brett Majors
  • Brett Matthews[1][2]
  • Matt Cardona
  • Zack Ryder[1]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[3]
Billed weight224 lb (102 kg)[3]
Billed fromLong Island, New York[3]
Trained byMikey Whipwreck
DebutAugust 14, 2004

Matthew Brett Cardona[4] (born May 14, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is a free agent who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), under his real name, stylized as Matt Cardona. He worked for WWE from 2006 to 2020, under the ring name Zack Ryder.

Cardona debuted in professional wrestling in 2004, teaming with Brian Myers on the independent circuit. Both men were signed by WWE the following year, making their main roster debuts in 2007. After the team split in 2009, he made appearances on WWE's ECW brand until 2010, following which he was featured sparingly on television. In 2011, he launched a YouTube web series in which he proclaimed himself WWE's "Internet Champion"; this, along with his creative use of social media, helped him establish a substantial cult following. Over the course of his time with WWE, Cardona held the Intercontinental, United States, and (Raw) Tag Team Championships (the latter with Hawkins on two occasions).

After being released by WWE in April 2020, Cardona has made appearances in major wrestling promotions including All Elite Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance, as well as the American independent circuit, most notably in Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). He has since won various championships including the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, Impact Digital Media Championship, and GCW World Championship. During this time he received critical praise, being named Indie Wrestler of the Year in 2022 and in 2023 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

Early life

[edit]

Matthew Brett Cardona was born in Merrick, New York, on May 14, 1985.[5] While in high school, he overcame synovial sarcoma, which had started in his foot and spread to his lungs. He was forced to miss a year of school.[6][7]

Professional wrestling career

[edit]

New York Wrestling Connection (2004–2006)

[edit]

Cardona was trained by Mikey Whipwreck.[8] He debuted with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) in 2004, using the name Brett Matthews. He began regularly teaming with Brian Myers and the duo of Myers and Matthews went on to defeat the NYWC Tag Team Champions Dickie Rodz and Mason Raige by disqualification, for which titles do not change hands.[9] On the next event on June 4, they won a rematch decisively to become the NYWC Tag Team Champions.[10] Later that month, they were attacked by The Dead Presidents (Lo Lincoln and Boog Washington) to set up a feud where they eventually lost their titles against them on August 27.[10] On September 23, they were entered into a three-way match with then champions, but Team Tremendous (Dan Barry and Ken Scampi) ended up with the championship.[9] After continuing to win matches, they re-earned a match against Team Tremendous and won the titles for the second time on January 25, 2006. They held the championship until they faced the B.S. Xpress (Tony Burma and Mike Spinelli), who defeated them for the titles on March 26.[10]

WWE (2005, 2006–2020)

[edit]

Developmental territories (2005–2007)

[edit]

Cardona's first WWE appearance was on April 21, 2005, on SmackDown!, where he took on Matt Morgan in a losing effort.[11] On February 24, 2006, Cardona signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[5] In Deep South Wrestling (DSW), he was renamed Brett Major while Myers was renamed Brian Major. On October 12, they won the DSW Tag Team Championship from The Untouchables (Deuce Shade and Dice Domino) and held them until the end of November, losing them to Urban Assault (Eric Pérez and Sonny Siaki). After the titles were vacated in the following year, they became two-time champions defeating the new team of Sonny Siaki and Afa Jr (The Samoan Swat Team) and The Blue Bloods (William Regal and Dave Taylor).[12] Later in 2007 they moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, reigning from June 15 to 29.[13]

In March 2015, Devon Nicholson described an incident from 2006 that Bill DeMott was involved with while he was head trainer for the WWE's DSW developmental territory. Nicholson described an incident where Drew Hankinson was completely naked in the ring for a long period of time and gave naked stink faces to Cardona and Melissa Coates while DeMott held jelly donuts over their faces. The wrestlers agreed to do this (with the other talent encouraging them) to get out of regular training for that day.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] DeMott refuted the notion that it was his idea, stating that the other trainees came up with because they wanted to skip the session.[21][22]

La Familia (2007–2009)

[edit]
In 2007, The Major brothers allied with Edge (center) and changed their names to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder

The team was moved to the main roster in May 2007. They worked on WWE's ECW brand, winning only their first match[23][24][25] until they were drafted to SmackDown! in June.[26] On November 9 they won a battle royal to receive a WWE Tag Team Championship match, but didn't win.[27]

At Armageddon, the duo dressed up like Edge and interfered in the World Heavyweight Championship match, replacing Edge at several points along the match to help him win the title and thus turning heel for the first time in their WWE career.[28] On December 21, the Major Brothers were revealed as an acquaintance to Edge and his lover, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. The Major Brothers were repackaged and renamed, with Cardona and Myers being renamed Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins respectively.[29] Occasionally referred to as the Rated-R Entourage by commentators Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield, the group allied with Guerrero's nephew, Chavo Guerrero and his enforcer Bam Neely as the group La Familia, which dominated SmackDown's storyline through 2008. Ryder and Hawkins interfered in Edge's match at WrestleMania XXIV against The Undertaker, but Undertaker eventually won the match.

At The Great American Bash on July 20, Curt Hawkins (the former Bryan Major) and Ryder won the WWE Tag Team Championship from John Morrison and the Miz in a fatal four-way match which also featured Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle after Hawkins pinned Jesse.[30][31] Their victory meant that they were the youngest team to hold the championships.[32] By SummerSlam in August,[33] La Familia had begun to fracture and Ryder, with Hawkins, went back to appearing on their own.[34][35] On the September 26 airing of SmackDown, Hawkins and Ryder lost the titles to The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) in their first televised title defense.[36] On April 15, 2009, Ryder was drafted back to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 supplemental draft, separating the team.[37]

Long Island Loudmouth (2009–2011)

[edit]

Ryder made his return to ECW on May 5, 2009, in a backstage segment with General Manager Tiffany. He now sported short hair, tanned skin, sunglasses, a headband, half-trunks/half-tights, displaying something of an arrogant Long Island guido character and more frequent uses of catchphrases "woo woo woo" and "you know it", that he had used sparingly in the tag team.[38][39] He lost to Finlay in his first singles match, on the May 7 episode of Superstars.[40] His first win was on the May 19 ECW on Sci Fi over a jobber,[39] in what is now known as the "exploding trunks" match due to the jobber suffering a wardrobe malfunction during the match.[41] On September 15, Ryder won a 10-man battle royal to earn contendership to the ECW Championship[42] but lost to the champion, Christian, the following week.[43] On the November 3 episode of ECW, Ryder entered a love angle with Rosa Mendes who became his valet.[44] He also feuded with Tommy Dreamer, culminating in a match on December 29 where Ryder won to force Dreamer to leave the company.[45]

"It was way before The Jersey Shore. I was with Curt Hawkins as the Edge Heads—a long haired blonde kid. And I needed a change. I needed something different. So I just took my real personality, turned the volume way up, cut the hair, went to all the clubs on Long Island, like GLO, and fist pumped with all my broskies until I finally found who I really was, and portrayed it to the world, throwing up the 'LI' hand signal".

Ryder on his new character after he stopped teaming with Hawkins.[46]

When the ECW brand came to an end in February 2010, Ryder and Mendes moved to the Raw brand, making his debut on the February 25 episode of Superstars, defeating Primo. Ryder made his Raw debut on March 1, losing to Montel Vontavious Porter in a Money in the Bank qualifying match.[47] He participated in an untelevised 26-man battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI, being the last person eliminated by the winner Yoshi Tatsu. Mendes was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2010 Supplemental Draft without Ryder,[48] so Ryder sought a new valet, trying to impress Alicia Fox and Gail Kim while they watched his matches at ringside. During a match with Evan Bourne on the May 10 episode of Raw, Fox attempted to interfere on Ryder's behalf but was stopped by Kim, leading to Bourne winning the match.[49] The two new pairings faced off in a mixed tag team match on the May 17 episode of Raw, which Ryder and Fox lost.[50] Ryder had a return win over Bourne on May 27's Superstars.[51] The next week on Raw, Fox attacked Ryder with an axe kick after Raw guest host Ashton Kutcher put a bounty on Ryder's head.[52] During the June 7 Viewer's Choice episode of Raw, Ryder was voted to team with The Miz, defeating John Morrison and R-Truth.[53] The next week, Ryder had a title shot in a fatal four-way match for the United States Championship, but lost.[54] Months later, in August, he was given a WWE Championship match against Sheamus that lasted 11 seconds, which was the second-shortest WWE Championship match in WWE history, in an attempt by Sheamus to circumvent the company's 30 day championship defence policy.[55]

During this time, Ryder became a mentor on the second season of NXT to Titus O'Neil. They debuted in a losing effort against John Morrison and Eli Cottonwood;[56] O'Neil was the first rookie eliminated from the second season, on June 29.[57] On the July 27 episode of NXT, Ryder lost against Percy Watson, making him the first mentor of season 2 to lose to a rookie in a singles match.[58] For the remainder of the year and well into 2011, Ryder mostly became used on the non-branded Superstars show, occasionally teaming with Primo. Ryder won a 2010 Slammy Award for Most Annoying Catchphrase in December.[59]

Rise of the Ryder Revolution (2011–2012)

[edit]
Ryder with his self-proclaimed WWE Internet Championship

As a result of being underutilised on television, Ryder became dissatisfied with his place in WWE and he started a YouTube web series[60] called Z! True Long Island Story in February 2011[61] to promote his character.[62] The web series soon earned Ryder a dedicated fan following: his T-shirts sold out despite not appearing on television[62] and by June, "We Want Ryder" chants were started by the audiences of Raw and the Capitol Punishment pay-per-view without Ryder appearing on the show.[63][64]

The web show's popularity led to Ryder having a rise in status, making more appearances on television. Between April and June, Ryder appeared during Raw more often, often in backstage segments with John Cena.[65][66] On June 6, Ryder had his first match on Raw in 2011, losing to Kofi Kingston.[67] On the June 16 episode of Superstars in front of his hometown of Long Island his status as a face wrestler was confirmed when he defeated his former tag team partner Primo.[68] On the July 29 episode of SmackDown, Ryder was appointed as the assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, allowing him to make television appearances on both Raw and SmackDown.[69]

On the September 19 episode of Raw SuperShow, Ryder won a non-title match against United States Champion Dolph Ziggler with the help of guest star Hugh Jackman who punched Ziggler mid-match.[70] Following his victory over Ziggler, Ryder received a match for the United States Championship the following week and again at Vengeance, but both unsuccessful due to interference from Jack Swagger.[71][72] Ryder main evented Raw SuperShow for the first time on November 7, teaming with John Cena in a losing effort against The Miz and R-Truth.[73] At Survivor Series later in November, with Ryder not wrestling on the card, there were multiple "We Want Ryder" chants, including during the United States Championship match and during The Rock's show-closing speech.[74]

On the December 5 episode of Raw SuperShow, Ryder lost a match to Cena and a chance for a WWE Championship shot, but Cena surrendered his WWE Championship match so Ryder could have a second chance, but for the United States Championship. This second chance was a no disqualification match against then World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry, which Ryder won with interference from Cena,[75] thus earning him a United States Championship match at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, which Ryder won over Dolph Ziggler to capture his first ever singles title.[76] Shortly after, Ryder left his position as assistant to the SmackDown General Manager due to his championship commitments.[77]

Return to lower-tier status (2012–2015)

[edit]

2012 turned out to be less of a success for Ryder than 2011. The Baltimore Sun wrote, "The 2011 calendar year was a dream for Ryder... But 2012 was a nightmare..." Seemingly all the glory of his YouTube hit fizzled... After WrestleMania, he was rarely seen on WWE TV".[78] By March 2012, John Cena noted that Ryder had "fallen off the face of the earth" despite 2011's success.[79] Ryder was eventually ranked by Pro Wrestling Torch writer Benjamin Tucker as No. 1 in the "Top 10 Crashing Stars of 2012". Tucker noted that Ryder was once again a jobber despite getting himself over in 2011.[80]

Fans supporting Ryder as he prepares to face The Miz in April 2012

Going into 2012, Ryder started trying to romance Eve as part of a romantic storyline.[81] As Cena's friend, Ryder also became a target of Kane, who was feuding with Cena at the time and attacked Ryder on several occasions. On the January 16 episode of Raw SuperShow, Ryder lost his United States Championship to Jack Swagger due to a kayfabe rib injury he suffered at the hands of Kane;[82] Ryder never received an automatic title rematch despite being the former champion.[83] Ryder's injuries mounted after he was chokeslammed through the Raw SuperShow stage[84] and Tombstoned at the Royal Rumble.[85] On the February 13 episode of Raw SuperShow, a wheelchair-using Ryder saw Eve kiss Cena, after Cena saved her from a kidnapping by Kane. After a confrontation with Cena, Kane wheeled Ryder off the stage, injuring him even further.[86] While Ryder was out injured, Eve sparked a heel turn for her character when she revealed that she had never liked Ryder and had disingenuously used him for fame and publicity.[87] Ryder returned on the March 5 episode of Raw SuperShow, confronting Eve on her recent actions, but she managed to seduce him and the two shared a long backstage kiss afterwards.[88] Ryder then joined Theodore Long's team for a match to determine the General Manager of Raw and SmackDown at WrestleMania XXVIII. During the match, Eve distracted Ryder, costing him and Team Teddy the match, and she added further insult to injury by giving Ryder a low blow after the match.[89] After wrestling sporadically, Ryder failed to gain revenge on Kane for his attacks on him earlier in 2012, when Kane easily defeated Ryder in the pre-show match of Over the Limit.[90] He won The Great American Bash 20-man Battle Royal[91][92] on the special "Great American Bash" July 3 episode of SmackDown to become the acting SmackDown (or "ZackDown", as he called it) GM the next week.[93][94]

At the Night of Champions pre-show on September 16, Ryder won a 16-man battle royal to become number one contender for the United States Championship. However, later on in the pay-per-view, he failed to capture the title from defending champion Antonio Cesaro.[95] During the debut episode of Main Event on October 3, Ryder and Santino Marella were entered into a tournament to decide the number one contender to the tag team titles, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd to advance to the semi-finals.[96] The following week on Raw, the duo (eventually known as Team Co-Bro) was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow).[97][98] As 2012 drew to a close, Ryder commented that the year had "sucked".[99]

"... it really kind of broke the spirit of the locker room. For years, we were told... that there's a brass ring... and it's there for the taking if you work hard enough and get yourself over. And [Ryder]... defied the odds and actually does it, and all the boys are rooting for him... He got over without the [WWE] office, without TV time... And then they did just crush it and take it all away from him... It's like, you're not going to get pushed unless they pick you to get pushed, and that's kind of it".

Ryder's former tag partner Curt Hawkins in a 2014 interview[100]

In 2013, Ryder most commonly appeared on Superstars and lost all his singles matches on Raw and SmackDown.[101] Ryder entered the 2013 Royal Rumble match (his only PPV match for the year) and was eliminated with no eliminations after two minutes.[102] After weeks of the roster's emasculation at the hands of authority figure Triple H, Ryder and several other babyfaces finally saved Daniel Bryan from a beat-down by The Shield and Randy Orton on the September 16 Raw.[103] In response, Triple H arranged for Ryder and Justin Gabriel to face Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt Family on the next SmackDown, where Ryder's team lost.[104] On the next Raw, Bryan, Ryder and the other babyfaces faced the Shield in an 11-on-3 handicap elimination match; Ryder was eliminated by Roman Reigns, but his team eventually won the match.[105]

Ryder in May 2014

In January 2014, the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter released a ranking of WWE's roster; Ryder was ranked as a lower-tier babyface and the third lowest babyface on the roster.[106] Ryder was also unsuccessful in winning three battle royals: the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX,[107] a battle royal for the United States Championship in May and a battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship at Battleground.[108][109] On the July 21 episode of Raw, Ryder picked up his first singles victory on Raw since December 2012,[101] but it was only after Layla interfered against Ryder's opponent, Fandango.[110] In November 2014, Ryder announced that he had torn his rotator cuff.[111] John Cena gave a storyline explanation that a comment on Twitter led to The Authority punishing Ryder.[112]

Ryder returned on January 25, 2015, at the Royal Rumble in the Rumble match at No. 9 and was quickly eliminated by Bray Wyatt.[113] Ryder participated in the 2nd annual André the Giant Memorial battle royal at WrestleMania 31 which was won by Big Show.[114] Ryder, being accompanied by the cast of Entourage, answered Cena's United States Championship open challenge on the May 25 episode of Raw in his hometown and in the final WWE event held in the Nassau Coliseum, but failed to win after a countered 450 Splash.[115] On the June 4 episode of SmackDown, Ryder accepted Kevin Owens' open challenge for the NXT Championship, which he lost.[116]

The Hype Bros (2015–2018)

[edit]
Ryder after winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 32

In June 2015, Zack Ryder began appearing in WWE's developmental system NXT, where he formed a tag team with NXT's returning Mojo Rawley.[117] After a month-long feud with the likes of The Mechanics (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) and Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, along with countless victories over the teams, The Hype Bros teamed up with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady to defeat The Mechanics, Jordan and Gable in an 8-man tag team match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. On the October 16 episode of NXT, The Hype Bros competed in a match for the NXT Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. On the October 22 episode of NXT, Ryder competed in a 26-man battle royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship. Ryder was unsuccessful, although he was among the last few competitors in the match.

Meanwhile, on the main roster, Ryder continued wrestling on Superstars and Main Event from June 2015 to March 2016. He suffered singles losses to Bo Dallas, Rusev and The Miz, but managed to trade singles wins and losses with Adam Rose, Heath Slater, Stardust and Tyler Breeze.[118][119]

Ryder at WrestleMania 34

At WrestleMania 32, Ryder substituted Neville in the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship and won.[120][121][122] He lost the title to The Miz the following night on Raw.[123] Three days later on SmackDown, Ryder received a rematch, where Maryse helped Miz to retain.[124]

"So humorous. WWE has no story for Ryder's title win on Sunday, then ends his title run the next night to put the belt back on a mid-card heel who hasn't done anything in a while".

Pro Wrestling Torch writer James Caldwell, after Ryder quickly lost his Intercontinental Championship to The Miz after winning it at WrestleMania 32[125]

After that, he was put in the orbit for the United States championship, working with wrestlers like Rusev,[126] Big Show,[127] or Sheamus.[128] At Battleground, Ryder was defeated by the United States champion Rusev.[129] After the match, with Rusev continuing to beat down Ryder, Ryder's former tag team partner Mojo Rawley would make the save, thus reforming The Hype Bros tag team. On August 21 at the SummerSlam pre-show, The Hype Bros teamed with The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) and American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) to face The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch), Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango), and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) in a 12-man tag team match, where Ryder's team was victorious.[130]

The Hype Bros later participated in an 8-team tournament to crown the inaugural WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions, where The Hype Bros defeated The Vaudevillains in the first round, before losing to Heath Slater and Rhyno in the semi-finals.[131][132] However, after American Alpha were removed from the tournament following an attack by The Usos, it was announced that The Hype Bros would face The Usos at the Backlash pay-per-view to determinate who would face Slater and Rhyno in the finals, but The Hype Bros would go on to lose the match.[133] They also participated in multi-tag matches at Survivor Series and TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs.[134][135]

On the December 13 episode of SmackDown, Ryder injured his knee and was inactive for six months.[136] He returned on the June 13, 2017, episode of SmackDown, reuniting with Rawley. On June 18, at the Money in the Bank pre-show, The Hype Bros faced The Colóns (Primo and Epico Colón)in a winning effort.[137] Two days later on SmackDown, Shane McMahon announced that Ryder and Rawley would have an opportunity to become number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at the June 27 episode of SmackDown in a match against tag team champions The Usos, in which they lost.[138]

On the November 28 episode of SmackDown Live, the team was dissolved when, after a lost against The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan), Rawley attacked Ryder.[139] They would face at Clash of Champions and during a tournament for the United States title with Rawley winning both matches.[140][141][142] At WrestleMania 34, Ryder participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he was eliminated by Mojo Rawley.[143]

Reunion with Curt Hawkins (2018–2020)

[edit]

On April 16, Ryder was drafted to Raw brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up.[144] Before the April 23 episode of Raw, Ryder suffered a MCL, ACL and calf muscle strains in a match against Mike Kanellis. As a result, Ryder missed the Greatest Royal Rumble event, at which he was scheduled to compete.[145] Ryder returned on the May 7 episode of Main Event, defeating his former partner Curt Hawkins.[146]

For the first few months of 2019, Ryder was paired with Hawkins, and the two feuded with the WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson).[147][148] On the WrestleMania 35 kickoff show, Ryder and Hawkins defeated The Revival to capture the titles for a second time in their career. The next night on Raw, Ryder and Hawkins made their first successful title defense, defeating The Revival in a rematch and would later beat them again on the April 29 episode of Raw.[149] Following that, the team was largely absent from television and mainly appeared at live events. Even though they were the champions, they only made two appearances on WWE programming during the month of May: a loss to The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) on the May 6 episode of Raw and a win against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on the May 27 episode of Main Event.[150] On the June 10 episode of Raw, Ryder and Hawkins lost the titles back to The Revival in a tag-team triple threat match also involving The Usos.[151] At Survivor Series on November 24, Ryder and Hawkins competed in a ten-man interbrand battle royal, but were the third team eliminated.[152] In his final pay-per-view appearance, Ryder and Hawkins lost to the Viking Raiders at Elimination Chamber on March 8, 2020.[153] The following night on Raw, Ryder was defeated by Bobby Lashley in what would be his final WWE match.[154] On April 15, both Hawkins and Ryder were released from their WWE contracts as part of budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, thus ending Ryder's 15-year tenure with the company.[155]

All Elite Wrestling (2020, 2024)

[edit]

After leaving WWE, Cardona began to work with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on a limited appearance deal under his real name.[156] He made his debut on the July 29, 2020, episode of Dynamite, saving Cody from an attack by Alex Reynolds and John Silver of The Dark Order.[157] He made his in-ring debut on the August 5 episode of Dynamite, teaming with Cody to defeat Reynolds and Silver.[158] At the All Out pay-per-view on September 5, he teamed with Dustin Rhodes, Q. T. Marshall and Scorpio Sky in an eight-man tag team match to defeat Mr. Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson of The Dark Order, which was his last match with the promotion until 2024, as it was reported he was no longer under contract with AEW.[159]

On the March 30, 2024 episode of AEW Collision, Cardona returned to AEW, accepting his former La Familia stablemate, Adam Copeland's open challenge for the AEW TNT Championship.[160] He was defeated in the match.[161]

Impact Wrestling (2021–2023)

[edit]

After leaving AEW, Cardona began to work with Impact Wrestling in a similar limited appearance deal.[162] He made his surprise debut on January 16, 2021, at Hard To Kill, where he defeated Ace Austin by disqualification.[163] On the January 26 episode of Impact!, Cardona teamed with Josh Alexander to defeat Austin and Madman Fulton.[164] Soon after, Cardona would begin a feud with his former tag team partner, Brian Myers. At No Surrender, Cardona and Eddie Edwards were defeated by Myers and Hernandez,[165] and Cardona was defeated by Myers again at Rebellion in a singles match.[166] The feud ended at Slammiversary, where Cardona teamed up with his real-life fiancée, Chelsea Green to defeat Myers and Tenille Dashwood.[167] At Bound for Glory, Cardona competed in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match, where he would be the runner-up in the match after being lastly eliminated by Moose.[168] At Turning Point, Cardona lost to W. Morrissey with the help of Moose.[169] On the December 2 episode of Impact!, Cardona pinned Moose in a tag team match, thus earning him an Impact World Championship match at Hard To Kill.[170][171] At the event, on January 8, 2022, Cardona was unsuccessful in capturing the title in a three-way match also involving Morrissey.[172][173]

On the February 3 episode of Impact!, Cardona defeated Jordynne Grace to win the Impact Digital Media Championship after hitting her with a steel chair, thus turning heel.[174][175][176] At No Surrender, he defeated Grace by disqualification after she delivered to him a low blow.[177] On the February 24 episode of Impact!, Cardona defeated Grace for the title again in a Dotcombat match.[178] On the April 15 episode of Impact!, Myers reunited with Cardona and attacked W. Morrissey during an in-ring promo, with the help of Chelsea Green. At the end of the segment, they smashed Morrisey through a table. Later in the show, Green gave Mickie James a cheap shot and then knocked her down with Myers and Cardona's help. The following week, Cardona retained his title against the returning James Maritato.[179][180][181] He would lose the title against Rich Swann during an independent event.[182] On October 7 at Bound for Glory, Cardona made his return by competing in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, eliminating Gisele Shaw and Taylor Wilde before being eliminated by Bhupinder Gujjar.[183]

On May 14, 2023, Cardona confirmed he was officially done with Impact Wrestling.[184] However, Cardona returned to Impact Wrestling on October 21, at Bound for Glory as a participant in the 20-person Intergender Call Your Shot Gauntlet match, eliminating Jake Something, Sonny Kiss, Frankie Kazarian, Eric Young and Brian Myers before being eliminated by Jordynne Grace.[185]

Game Changer Wrestling (2021–present)

[edit]
Cardona at a GCW event in 2021

On June 6, 2021, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) held its Zombie Walk show at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Following Nick Gage's match with Jimmy Lloyd for the GCW World Championship – which ended in a no contest – a hooded figure entered the ring. The figure flailed their limbs around and performed a double underhook DDT on Gage, leading fans in attendance to believe it was Jon Moxley. When the hooded figure unmasked, however, it was revealed to be Cardona.[186] Prior to this confrontation, Cardona had called out Gage for weeks via social media. Gage also attempted to attack Cardona at a live podcast event.[187] Cardona challenged Gage for the title at night one of GCW Homecoming, which also took place at the Showboat Hotel, on July 24, 2021.[188] At the event, Cardona defeated Gage in a deathmatch to win the title, marking his first ever world championship in any promotion.[189][190] In GCW, he had a gimmick that tried to "fix" GCW, bringing sports entertainment elements such as dressing like Vince McMahon when he was ECW Champion, referring to the fans as GCW Universe and introducing a new title design with a spinner version of the belt.[191] He would lose the championship to Jon Moxley on September 4, 2021, at The Art of War Games.[192] At GCW's Welcome to Heartbreak event in Los Angeles, Myers and Cardona reunited alongside Chelsea Green as "The Major Players," losing to X-Pac and Joey Janela in the main event.[193]

National Wrestling Alliance (2021–2024)

[edit]

On December 4, 2021, at Hard Times 2, Cardona made his debut for NWA attacking NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch following his match with Mike Knox. On February 12, 2022, at NWA PowerrrTrip, Cardona defeated Murdoch to become the new champion.[194] During Night 2 of the Crockett Cup, he retained the title by disqualification against Nick Aldis, in a match where Jeff Jarrett was the special guest referee.[195] On June 11, at Alwayz Ready, Cardona was forced to vacate the title due to an injury.[196] On November 12, at Hard Times 3, Cardona competed in a three-way match for the title, which was won by Tyrus when he pinned then-champion Murdoch.[197] On February 11, 2023, at Nuff Said, Cardona fought Tyrus for the title in a losing effort.[198]

DDT Pro-Wrestling (2023)

[edit]

On May 21, 2023, during the final event of the 2023 King of DDT Tournament, DDT Pro-Wrestling announced that Cardona (accompanied by Steph De Lander) was going to challenge Tetsuya Endo for the DDT Universal Championship on July 23, at Wrestle Peter Pan 2023.[199] At the event, Cardona defeated Endo to win the title.[200][201]

Major League Wrestling (2023)

[edit]

In July 2023 at Never Say Never, it was announced that Cardona has signed with Major League Wrestling.[202] On September 3, Cardona (accompanied by Mister Saint Laurent) defeated Mance Warner in a No Holds Barred Kiss My Foot match.[203] At Slaughterhouse, Cardona confronted the MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane, claiming he should be world champion.[204] On November 2, MLW announced on social media that Cardona would challenge Kane for the title at One Shot.[205] At the event, Cardona was unsuccessful at winning the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Kane.[206]

Return to TNA (2024–present)

[edit]

On the March 28, 2024 episode of TNA Impact, Cardona alongside with Steph De Lander returned to TNA in 8-4-1 Match. On the April 11, 2024 episode of TNA Impact, he and Steph De Lander made a second appearance smashing Jordynne Grace through a table.

On the August 1 episode of TNA Impact, Cardona returned and attacked PCO at his wedding with De Lander.[207]

Professional wrestling style and persona

[edit]

Throughout his 15-year tenure with WWE, Cardona had several gimmicks as Zack Ryder, from his debut in 2007 as an Edgehead for Edge's La Familia to a social media influencer dubbed "Long Island Iced Z" that kickstarted the "Ryder Revolution" in 2011. During this period he would use a multitude of different signature and finishing moves such as a lifting inverted DDT, an inverted overdrive dubbed the Zack Attack, and currently a jumping leg lariat dubbed the Rough Ryder, now dubbed Radio Silence.

After his departure from WWE in 2020, Cardona reinvented himself as a "super-fan of all things wrestling" who paid tribute to WWE in order to rile up fans on the independent circuit. Cardona would dress up in Vince McMahon's ECW World Heavyweight Champion outfit to one of his GCW World Championship defenses, introduced a new "spinner belt" design for the championship to parody the WWE Championship spinner belt, and took aspects of "extreme icons" including Mick Foley and The Sandman and "mutated them in his own narcissistic image."[208]

In 2022, Cardona had taken on a "belt collector" gimmick, traveling around to various independent promotions, winning their top championships, and holding them alongside his Impact Digital Media, NWA World's Heavyweight, and self-promoted Internet Championships, holding as many as seven titles representing five different promotions at one point in April 2022,[209][210] while at the end of September 2023, he held nine different belts.[211][212]

Legacy

[edit]

Cardona is known for being one of the first wrestlers to become popular thanks to his online presence.[213][214] British wrestler Drake Maverick claimed that, without him "your Twitter, Instagram, YouTube promo wouldn't exist."[215]

Other media

[edit]
Matt Cardona
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
GenreVlogging
Subscribers140k[216]
(July 4, 2024)
Total views16.4 million[216]
(December 23, 2023)
Associated actsThe Major Wrestling Figure Podcast
100,000 subscribers2011

Last updated: December 23, 2023[217]

Cardona as Zack Ryder started a YouTube web series called Z! True Long Island Story in February 2011. The web series was a collection of short comments from Ryder, containing comedic allusions to wrestling and pop culture; it also featured cameos from his friends, family, as well as fellow WWE colleagues.[218] The show's theme song "Just Take Care, Spike Your Hair (The Broski of the Week Song)" was written specifically about Ryder by The Luke & Duane Show. In April 2011, Ryder proclaimed himself WWE "Internet Champion"[219] complete with a children's replica belt covered in stickers, as it was unsanctioned by WWE.[220] In July 2011, Ryder defended his Internet Championship at a house show in Australia, against Primo.[221] On an episode of Z! True Long Island Story, Dolph Ziggler challenged Ryder to an Internet title match at WrestleMania 29 which Ryder accepted.[222] Ryder soon replaced the toy belt with a $1,500 custom-made belt. The title belt's center plate features an engraved illustration of Ryder's head and spiked hair while the side plates display his logo and those of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook but these social media logos were not featured in WWE video games due to copyright issues.[223]

On episode 50 of Z! True Long Island Story, Ryder announced the show would be part of WWE's official YouTube channel.[224] Z! True Long Island Story ended on January 11, 2013, which was the show's 100th episode. The show was "ended" by Dolph Ziggler, who attacked Ryder with his Money in the Bank briefcase, setting up a dream sequence featuring cameos from people who had previously appeared on the show while Ryder climbed a staircase to "heaven". When Ryder woke up, he thought that the Ryder Revolution was all a dream until being told by his family and friends that it all happened.[225] Overall, the series ran 50 episodes on Zack Ryder's YouTube channel and 50 episodes on WWE's official YouTube channel. Ryder later said that he regretted allowing WWE to move his show to their YouTube channel and that WWE had removed content from his videos.[226] On March 10, 2014, Ryder uploaded the first episode of his new series, Zack Ryder's Last ReZort, to his own YouTube channel. In this video, Ryder (without his traditional glasses and headband) expressed his frustration regarding his dramatic plunge to the bottom of the roster, proclaiming his desire to have "lightning strike twice" and work his way back up the cards.[227][unreliable source?] In October 2014, Ryder and Dolph Ziggler "took over" an episode of WWE's YouTube series, The JBL (Not Cole) Show for its 99th episode, making it in turn the 101st episode of Ryder's show, Z! True Long Island Story.[228]

In July 2011, Ryder was featured in Sports Illustrated's list of the 100 most influential Twitter users in sports.[229] On January 16, 2013, Ryder released a music video entitled "Hoeski".[230] The song amassed over 100,000 views in four days and was also posted on WWE's official YouTube channel.[231] "Hoeski" peaked at No. 92 on the iTunes Pop Music chart on February 5, 2013.[232]

Ryder has also appeared on Travel Channel's Toy Hunter documentary.[233]

Ryder has appeared in ten WWE video games. He made his in-game debut at WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 and appeared in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, WWE '12,[234] WWE '13, WWE 2K14, WWE 2K16,[235] WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, and WWE 2K20.

On March 18, 2017, it was announced that Ryder would be launching a new YouTube series called Z! True Comeback Story, chronicling his return to the ring after suffering a knee injury in December.[236] In 2018, Ryder started a podcast with Curt Hawkins about wrestling figures called The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.[237] Ever since their WWE release, they began hosting the podcast under their current in-ring names Matt Cardona and Brian Myers respectively.

On August 20, 2022, it was revealed on Sirius XM's Busted Open Radio that Matt Cardona had joined the cast of The Last Match: A Pro-Wrestling Rock Musical as the fictional wrestling heel, Alexander Swagger opposite Ramin Karimloo and Amber Ardolino.[238] On September 26, 2022, Cardona joined the cast for two live performances of The Last Match in Jersey City, NJ at White Eagle Hall.[239]

On May 22, 2023, Cardona posted a new episode of Z! True Long Island Story as Zack Ryder. Steph De Lander would appear in the episode using her WWE name Persia Pirotta and stole the Internet Championship from him. Ryder would chase her into a limousine trying to get it back from her but was unable to do so as it would explode, kayfabe killing both of them.[240] This indicates he had gained the rights to Zack Ryder and had used this to permanently write the character off.[citation needed]

Discography

[edit]
Singles
Title Release Length
Peak iTunes chart position
"Hoeski"
2012 3:54 92[241]

Personal life

[edit]

Cardona resides in Orlando, Florida. He began dating Canadian professional wrestler Chelsea Green in January 2017, and they were engaged on April 4, 2019.[242] They were married on December 31, 2021, in Las Vegas.[243]

Cardona is an avid fan of Ghostbusters. He has periodically donned Ghostbusters themed ring gear during matches,[244] and discussed his love of the franchise in the 2016 documentary Ghostheads.[245]

Championships and accomplishments

[edit]
Cardona is a one-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion...
...a former Intercontinental Champion (as Zack Ryder)...
...and a former Impact Digital Champion

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matt Cardona". Cagematch.net. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "New York Wrestling Connection Title Histories". Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "Zack Ryder bio". WWE. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Genickbruch.com". genickbruch.com (in German). Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Zack Ryder at Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  6. ^ How Zack Ryder's battle with cancer motivated him to become a WWE Superstar: April 13, 2016 on YouTube
  7. ^ S03 EP05: The Indy God: Matt Cardona on YouTube
  8. ^ WWE Magazine Special – 25 Years of Interviews (September/October 2008). p. 49.
  9. ^ a b "NYWC Results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d "NYWC Tag Team Championship history". New York Wrestling Connection. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  11. ^ Phillips, Tom (December 24, 2014). "5 Superstars in WWE before they were famous – 5 Things". WWE's YouTube channel. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Tanabe, Hisaharu. "DSW Tag Team Championship history". Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  13. ^ Gerweck, Steve (June 15, 2007). "OVW Six Flags Super Summer Sizzler Series No. 3 Results". Archived from the original on June 21, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  14. ^ Harris, Keith (December 9, 2012). "Head WWE trainer Bill DeMott attacked on Twitter by former trainee Kevin Matthews". Cageside Seats. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  15. ^ Giri, Raj (March 7, 2015). "Independent Wrestler Tells Gross Bill DeMott Story Involving Zack Ryder And Female Wrestler (Video)". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  16. ^ Paglino, Nick (March 7, 2015). "Independent Wrestler Tells Bizarre Story of What Bill DeMott Once Made Zack Ryder & Luke Gallows Do During Training". Wrestle Zone. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  17. ^ "An Indy Wrestler Reveals A Bizarre Story On Bill DeMott In WWE Developmental – Video Inside". eWrestlingNews.com. March 7, 2015. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  18. ^ "VIDEO: Indy Wrestler Details A Bizarre Bill DeMott Incident". ProWrestling.com. March 7, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  19. ^ Lugo, Johnny (March 12, 2015). "WWE News: Latest On Bill DeMott Controversies, Another Gross Story Surfaces". Wrestling News Depot. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  20. ^ Lee, Joseph (March 7, 2015). "Independent Wrestler Tells Story About Bizarre Thing Bill DeMott Made Wrestlers Do". 411Mania. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  21. ^ Alba, Jon (March 13, 2015). "Bill DeMott Has Taken to Twitter to Respond to Allegations". Wrestling Rumours. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  22. ^ "Luke Gallows absent". Wrestling Revealed. March 3, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  23. ^ Bryan Robinson (June 5, 2007). "Chairman falling deeper and deeper into the abyss". WWE. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  24. ^ Bryan Robinson (May 8, 2007). "Spirit of ECW Splashed". WWE. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  25. ^ Robinson, Bryan (May 22, 2007). "Experiencing painful revenge". WWE. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  26. ^ "SmackDown drafts up". WWE. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  27. ^ "Finding the way". WWE. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  28. ^ Dee, Louie (December 17, 2007). "A Major revelation". WWE. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
  29. ^ Dee, Louie (August 12, 2009). "Three for All". WWE. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  30. ^ "History Of The WWE Tag Team Championship – Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder". WWE. July 20, 2008. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  31. ^ Passero, Mitch (July 20, 2008). "Out of the shadows, into the golden light". WWE. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  32. ^ "Hawkins and Ryder: WWE's youngest Tag Team Champions". WWE. August 7, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  33. ^ "8/8 WWE SMACKDOWN: Parks's Ongoing "Real-Time" Coverage of the CW Show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  34. ^ DiFino, Lennie (August 17, 2008). "Unleashed in Hell". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  35. ^ Waldman, Jon (September 13, 2008). "Smackdown: Kozlov seeks competition". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  36. ^ Martin, Adam (September 22, 2008). "Friday Night Smackdown Tapings – Columbus (Last show on CW)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  37. ^ "2009 WWE Supplemental Draft results". World Wrestling Entertainment. April 15, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  38. ^ Bishop, Matt (May 6, 2009). "ECW: Bourne, Kidd steal show". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  39. ^ a b Bishop, Matt (May 20, 2009). "ECW: Hart Trilogy keeps Finlay guessing". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  40. ^ Mackinder, Matt (May 7, 2009). "WWE Superstars: Jericho tops Morrison". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  41. ^ "Zack Ryder vs Rory Fargo (Fox)". November 28, 2014. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
  42. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's ECW TV Report 9/15: Complete Report on new No. 1 contender to Christian's ECW Title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  43. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's ECW TV Report 9/22: Complete coverage of Christian vs. Zack Ryder". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  44. ^ Medalis, Kara A. (November 3, 2009). "Wish granted". WWE. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  45. ^ Medalis, Kara A. (December 29, 2009). "An Original goodbye". WWE. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  46. ^ "Newsday interview with Zack Ryder". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  47. ^ Adkins, Greg (March 1, 2010). "A long, strange trip to Wrestlemania". Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  48. ^ "2010 Supplemental Draft Results". April 27, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  49. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 5/10: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Flavor Flav guest-hosting, John Cena and Batista". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  50. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 5/17: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of commercial-free Raw – Buzz Aldrin, Bret Hart vs. The Miz". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  51. ^ Johnson, Matt (May 28, 2010). "Superstars: Upset in the main event the news coming out of Thursday night". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  52. ^ Plummer, Dale (May 31, 2010). "RAW: Ashton Kutcher hosts Killer show". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  53. ^ Plummer, Dale (June 8, 2010). "RAW: Vote early, vote often; NXT takes over". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  54. ^ Waldman, Jon (June 14, 2010). "Raw: The invasion continues(?)". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  55. ^ Caldwell, James (August 23, 2010). "WWE Raw Results 8/23: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Raw on USA Network – Cena vs. The Miz". PWTorch. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  56. ^ Bishop, Matt (June 8, 2010). "WWE NXT: New rookies pay as Season 2 opens". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  57. ^ Bishop, Matt (June 29, 2010). "WWE NXT: Surprise! First elimination on tap". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  58. ^ Bishop, Matt (July 27, 2010). "WWE NXT: Second rookie goes home; New No. 1". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  59. ^ "Supplemental Slammy winners". WWE. December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  60. ^ Caldwell, James (June 13, 2011). "WWE News: Zack Ryder mainstream interview – origins of YouTube show, WWE's reaction, having nothing to lose, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  61. ^ "Z! True Long Island Story Episode # 1". YouTube. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2011. Uploaded by LongIslandIcedZ on 17 February 2011
  62. ^ a b Castillo, Alfonso. "Interview with WWE's "Long Island Iced Z" Zack Ryder". Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  63. ^ Caldwell, James (June 13, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 6/13: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live three-hour "All-Stars" Raw hosted by Stone Cold Steve Austin". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  64. ^ Caldwell, James (June 19, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Capitol Punishment PPV Results 6/19: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV – Cena vs. Truth, Orton vs. Christian, Miz vs. Riley". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  65. ^ Caldwell, James (May 16, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 5/16: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live Raw – final Over the Limit hype, Lawler-Cole contract signing, Cena vs. Miz's opponent". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  66. ^ Assaad, Xander (May 30, 2011). "Xander's WWE Raw Report 5/30: Alt. perspective review of Monday's Raw, Segment & Overall Show Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  67. ^ Adkins, Greg. "Raw results: Brew you!". WWE.
  68. ^ Caldwell, James (June 16, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Superstars Report 6/16: Ryder in his hometown, Kane vs. Kidd main event & new manager, Great American Nightmare debuts". Pro Wrestling Torch.
  69. ^ Burdick, Michael. "SmackDown results: Truth and consequences". WWE. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  70. ^ Caldwell, James (September 19, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 9/19: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw Supershow following Night of Champions". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  71. ^ Caldwell, James (September 26, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 9/26: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw Supershow leading to Hell in a Cell". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  72. ^ Caldwell, James (October 23, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Vengeance PPV Results 10/23: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV – Triple H & Punk, Cena vs. Del Rio, Henry vs. Show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  73. ^ Caldwell, James (November 7, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 11/7: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Raw from the U.K. – Nash returns, Cena & Ryder". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  74. ^ "WWE Survivor Series onsite report: A second in-person perspective review of the MSG experience, notes on The Rock, John Cena, Zack Ryder". prowrestling.net. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  75. ^ Caldwell, James (December 5, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 12/5: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – No. 1 contender matches, WWE Network announcement". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
  76. ^ "Zack Ryder def. Dolph Ziggler (New United States Champion)". WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  77. ^ "WWE News: Smackdown news & notes – double title match outcomes, match for next week, Ryder replaced, Strike Three for Drew?". Pro Wrestling Torch. January 6, 2012. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  78. ^ Ocal, Arda. "WWE's Zack Ryder on his career slump, missing WrestleMania, changing characters and more". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  79. ^ "WWE star John Cena defends his idea for the WWE spinning title belt, yet says it's also time for it to be replaced". prowrestling.net. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  80. ^ Tucker, Benjamin. "Tucker's Top 10 – Crashing Stars of 2012: Who topped A.J. Styles as the No. 1 falling star of the past year". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  81. ^ Caldwell, James. "Storyline explanation for Eve & Ryder tag team". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  82. ^ Caldwell, James (January 9, 2012). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 1/9: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Jericho Week 2, Kane-Cena/Ryder dominates, Hall of Fame". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  83. ^ "Titles & Champs: Final list of 2012 Titleholders". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 2, 2013. (1) Champion: Zack Ryder Held Since: 12/18/11 (TLC PPV) 2012 TV/PPV title defenses: – pinfall loss vs. Jack Swagger (01/16/12 Raw TV) – Ryder never received title re-match
  84. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 1/23: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – final Royal Rumble hype, Jericho Week 4, Clay Week 3". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  85. ^ Caldwell, James (January 29, 2012). "Caldwell's WWE Royal Rumble report 1/29: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV – Rumble match, Punk-Ziggler, Cena-Kane, steel cage". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  86. ^ Caldwell, James (February 13, 2012). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 2/13: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – HBK returns, Chamber preview matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  87. ^ Stephens, David. "Raw Results – 2/20/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  88. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 3/5: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Michaels returns to Raw, Rock-Cena in Cena's hometown". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  89. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE WrestleMania 28 PPV Report 4/1: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV – Rock-Cena, Taker-Hunter, Punk-Jericho". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  90. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Over The Limit PPV Report 5/20: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV – Cena-Johnny, Punk-Bryan". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  91. ^ a b "WWE SuperSmackDown LIVE: The Great American Bash | Results | WWE PPV Events". The SmackDown Hotel.
  92. ^ a b "SuperSmackDown LIVE results: Ryder reigned supreme in The Great American Bash 20-Man Battle Royal". WWE.
  93. ^ Parks, Greg. "Parks' WWE SmackDown Report 7/3: Complete "virtual time" coverage of the live Great American Bash special, including 20-man Battle Royal; winner acts as GM for Smackdown next week". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  94. ^ Parks, Greg (July 13, 2012). "Parks' WWE SmackDown Report 7/13: Complete "virtual time" coverage of the special "Zackdown" episode, including Zack Ryder as special guest GM". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  95. ^ Caldwell, James (September 16, 2012). "Caldwell's WWE Night of Champions PPV Report 9/16: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV – Punk vs. Cena, six title matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  96. ^ Caldwell, James (October 3, 2012). "Caldwell's WWE Main Event Results 10/3: Complete coverage of premiere episode – Punk DVD footage, Punk vs. Sheamus, tournament match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  97. ^ Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 10/8: Complete coverage of live Raw – Cena returns, but McMahon dominates show". Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  98. ^ Cupach, Michael. "Cupach's WWE Main Event Results 12/19: Kane & Bryan defend Tag Titles, Players vs. Team Co-Bro". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 2, 2013. Players vs. Team Co-Bro
  99. ^ "WWE VIDEOS: Year-End episodes of "AYS?," JBL & Cole show, Ryder recapping a year that "sucked," Santino's F/X". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  100. ^ "Interview – Curt Hawkins with John Pollock – Live Audio Wrestling". Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  101. ^ a b "profightdb: Zack Ryder matches in June 2012 – July 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  102. ^ "Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations". WWE. January 28, 2012. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  103. ^ Caldwell, James (September 16, 2013). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 9/16 (Hour 3): Bryan vs. Reigns main event, the locker room responds, "medical updates," Ryback explains why he saved Heyman, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  104. ^ Parks, Greg (September 20, 2013). "Park's WWE SmackDown Report 9/20: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Friday show, including a gauntlet match involving The Shield and a host of babyfaces". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  105. ^ Caldwell, James (September 23, 2013). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 9/23 (Hour 3): Punk returns home, D-Bryan leads Babyfaces vs. Shield in main event". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  106. ^ Caldwell, James (January 29, 2014). "WWE Depth Chart: Review of WWE roster post-Rumble, including C.M. Punk being squeezed out". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  107. ^ "Andre the Giant memorial battle royal". Wrestleview. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  108. ^ Caldwell, James (May 5, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 5/5: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – PPV fall-out, U.S. Title battle royal, IC Title re-match, Shield vs. Wyatts, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  109. ^ Caldwell, James (July 20, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Battleground PPV report 7/20: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV – Cena defends WWE Title, IC Title battle royal, Usos vs. Wyatts Tag Title match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  110. ^ Caldwell, James (July 21, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 7/21: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Battleground fall-out". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  111. ^ Caldwell, James (November 8, 2014). "Newswire: Ryder injured?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  112. ^ Caldwell, James (November 10, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 11/10". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  113. ^ Caldwell, James (January 25, 2015). "Royal Rumble PPV report 1/25: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of Lesnar vs. Cena vs. Rollins for WWE Title, annual Royal Rumble match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  114. ^ Clapp, John. "2nd Annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". WWE. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  115. ^ "Shows". WWE. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  116. ^ "SmackDown Results, June 4, 2015 — Kane took down Reigns and Sheamus before inserting himself into Money in the Bank!". WWE.
  117. ^ "WWE NXT results – June 10, 2015: Samoa Joe makes his debut, Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley join forces". WWE.
  118. ^ "Zack Ryder during 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  119. ^ "Zack Ryder during 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  120. ^ Nouinou, Ayub (April 3, 2016). "WrestleMania 32: Will Intercontinental Championship seven-man ladder match steal the show in Texas". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  121. ^ "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report on Main PPV -". April 3, 2016. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  122. ^ a b Caldwell, James (April 4, 2016). "WrestleMania 32 Quick Results – Updated with match results throughout the PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  123. ^ Dilbert, Ryan (April 4, 2016). "WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 4". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  124. ^ Martin, Adam (April 7, 2016). "WWE Smackdown Results – 4/7/16 (Roman Reigns sizes up AJ Styles, Intercontinental Title rematch, tag main event)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  125. ^ Caldwell, James (April 5, 2016). "4/4 WWE Raw Results – Caldwell's Complete Report on post-WM32". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  126. ^ "Raw results, May 2, 2016: Reigns goes berserk on Styles after six-man main event". WWE. May 2, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  127. ^ Caldwell, James (July 5, 2016). "7/4 WWE Raw Results – Caldwell's Complete Live TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  128. ^ Parks, Greg (July 8, 2016). "7/7 WWE Smackdown – Parks' Complete, Real-Time Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  129. ^ Caldwell, James (July 24, 2016). "7/24 WWE Battleground Results – Caldwell's Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  130. ^ Caldwell, James (August 21, 2016). "8/21 WWE Summerslam Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  131. ^ Caldwell, James (August 30, 2016). "8/30 WWE Smackdown Live Results – Caldwell's Complete Live TV Report & Talking Smack-cap". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  132. ^ Parks, Greg (September 6, 2016). "9/6 WWE Smackdown LIVE – Parks's Complete, Real-Time Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  133. ^ Caldwell, James (September 11, 2016). "9/11 WWE Backlash Results – Caldwell's Complete PPV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  134. ^ Powell, Jason (November 20, 2016). "Powell's WWE Survivor Series 2016 live review: Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar, three Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown elimination matches, IC and WWE Cruiserweight Title matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  135. ^ Powell, Jason (December 4, 2016). "12/4 Powell's WWE TLC Kickoff Show coverage". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  136. ^ "WWE star Zack Ryder suffers knee injury during SmackDown". FOX Sports. December 14, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  137. ^ "The Hype Bros reunite to battle the Colons in Kickoff showdown". WWE. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  138. ^ "SmackDown LIVE results, June 27, 2017: Ellsworth pays dividends for Carmella in chaotic Money in the Bank Match". WWE. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  139. ^ "The Bludgeon Brothers def. The Hype Bros and Mojo goes berserk". WWE.
  140. ^ "Zack Ryder calls out Mojo Rawley for WWE Clash of Champions: Exclusive, Dec. 12, 2017". December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
  141. ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  142. ^ Pappolla, Ryan. "Mojo Rawley def. Zack Ryder in a First Round United States Championship Tournament Match". WWE. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  143. ^ Clapp, John. ""Woken" Matt Hardy won the Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". WWE. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  144. ^ "WWE Superstar Shake-up 2018 results: Full roster changes for Raw and SmackDown LIVE". WWE.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  145. ^ Benigno, Anthony. "UPDATE: Zack Ryder suffers knee injury during WWE Main Event tapings". WWE. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  146. ^ Ravens, Andrew (May 7, 2018). "Spoilers: WWE Main Event Taping Results For 5/7/2018". PWMania.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  147. ^ "1/21 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on final Royal Rumble hype, Ronda Rousey in a tag match, a debut of an NXT wrestler, Balor as no. 1 contender". Pro Wrestling Torch. January 21, 2019. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  148. ^ Keller, Wade (January 28, 2019). "1/28 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on post-Royal Rumble episode including Seth Rollins Rumble victory". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  149. ^ "The Revival put Hawkins & Ryder's new win streak to the test". WWE.
  150. ^ Thompson, Andrew (June 10, 2019). "The Usos vs. The Revival vs. Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins for RAW Tag Titles Made Official for WWE RAW". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  151. ^ "See how The Revival became true "Top Guys" in a Raw Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match" – via www.wwe.com.
  152. ^ Benigno, Anthony (November 24, 2019). "Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode won a cross-brand Tag Team Battle Royal (Kickoff Match)". WWE. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  153. ^ Benigno, Anthony (March 8, 2020). "The Viking Raiders def. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins (Kickoff Match)". WWE. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  154. ^ "WWE Raw results, March 9, 2020: Owens pays painful price twice in one night at hands of Rollins & Co". WWE.
  155. ^ Brookhouse, Brent (April 15, 2020). "WWE talent cuts: Kurt Angle, Rusev among those released in response to coronavirus impact". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  156. ^ Valdez, Nick (October 3, 2020). "Matt Cardona Confirms He's No Longer Signed with AEW". Comicbook.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  157. ^ Sporting News (July 30, 2020). "Matt Cardona makes surprise AEW debut on 'Dynamite'". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  158. ^ Boutwell, Josh (August 5, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results – 8/5/20 (AEW World Championship, Jericho and Cassidy debate)". WrestleView. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  159. ^ Cook, Ryan (September 5, 2020). "All Elite Wrestling All Out 2020 Results New Tag Team Champions Crowned". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  160. ^ Carey, Ian (March 31, 2024). "Matt Cardona reflects on 'dream match' vs. Adam Copeland on AEW Collision". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  161. ^ Nash, Anthony (March 31, 2024). "Matt Cardona Answers The Cope Open On 3/30 AEW Collision". Wrestlezone. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  162. ^ "Matt Cardona confirma que no ha firmado con IMPACT Wrestling". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. January 27, 2021.
  163. ^ Powell, Jason (January 16, 2021). "1/16 Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill results: Kenny Omega, Doc Gallows, and Karl Anderson vs. Rich Swann, Moose, and Chris Sabin, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts Title, Manik vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju for the X Division Title, Ethan Page vs. Karate Man". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  164. ^ Moore, John (January 27, 2021). "1/26 Impact Wrestling TV Results: Moore's review of the mystery man's return in the eight-man tag main event, Ace Austin and Madman Fulton vs. Josh Alexander and Matt Cardona, Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Myers, Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary, Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  165. ^ Cook, Ryan (February 13, 2021). "IMPACT Wrestling No Surrender 2021 Results & Live Coverage Rich Swann vs Tommy Dreamer". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  166. ^ Powell, Jason (April 25, 2021). "4/25 Impact Wrestling Rebellion results: Powell's review of AEW Champion Kenny Omega vs. Impact Champion Rich Swann in a title vs. title match, Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs. The Good Brothers for the Impact Tag Titles, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Tenille Dashwood for the Knockouts Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  167. ^ Powell, Jason (July 17, 2021). "7/17 Impact Wrestling Slammiversary results: Powell's live review of Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan in a No DQ match for the Impact World Championship, Deonna Purrazzo defends the Knockouts Championship against a mystery challenger, Ultimate X for the X Division Title, Moose vs. Chris Sabin". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  168. ^ Moore, John (October 23, 2021). "10/23 Moore's Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory live review: Christian Cage vs. Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mickie James for the Knockouts Title, Steve Maclin vs. Trey Miguel vs. El Phantasmo for the vacant X Division Title, Call Your Shot gauntlet". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  169. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (November 20, 2021). "Turning Point 2021 Results". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  170. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (December 2, 2021). "IMPACT! on AXS TV Results: December 2, 2021". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  171. ^ Moore, John (December 3, 2021). "12/2 Impact Wrestling TV results: Moore's review of Jonah (f/k/a Bronson Reed) appears, Rich Swann and Willie Mack vs. Joe Doering and Deaner, Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Chris Sabin". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  172. ^ Powell, Jason (January 8, 2022). "1/8 Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill results: Mickie James vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a Texas Death Match for the Knockouts Title, Moose vs. W. Morrissey vs. Matt Cardona for the Impact World Championship, Jonathan Gresham vs. Chris Sabin for the original ROH Championship, Josh Alexander vs. Jonah". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  173. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (January 8, 2022). "Hard To Kill 2022 Full Results". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  174. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (February 3, 2022). "IMPACT! on AXS TV Results: February 3, 2022". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  175. ^ Defelice, Robert (February 3, 2022). "New IMPACT Digital Media Champion Crowned On 2/3/22 IMPACT Wrestling". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  176. ^ Lafferriere, Nicolas (February 4, 2022). "Matt Cardona gana el Campeonato Digital Media en IMPACT Wrestling" (in Spanish). Solowrestling.com. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  177. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (February 19, 2022). "No Surrender 2022 Full Results". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  178. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (February 24, 2022). "IMPACT! on AXS TV Results: February 24, 2022". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  179. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (April 21, 2022). "IMPACT! on AXS TV Results: April 21, 2022". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  180. ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (April 21, 2022). "Vincent Brings PCO Back To Life, Moose Isn't Sorry, And Much More - IMPACT Fight Size". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  181. ^ Garza, Antonio (April 21, 2022). "Impact Wrestling live results: Rebellion go-home show". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  182. ^ Guerrero, Diego (May 29, 2022). "Rich Swann gana el IMPACT Digital Media Championship en el evento Wrestling REVOLVER Vegas Vacation 2022". Solo Wrestling (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  183. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (October 7, 2022). "Bound For Glory 2022 Full Results". Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  184. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross (May 14, 2023). "Matt Cardona Finished With IMPACT Wrestling For Now". Fightful. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  185. ^ IMPACT Wrestling Staff (October 21, 2023). "Bound For Glory 2023 Full Results". IMPACT Wrestling.
  186. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (June 6, 2021). "GCW Zombie Walk Results (6/6): Nick Gage Defends GCW World Title". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  187. ^ Hatcher, Andrew (June 14, 2021). "Update On Recent Matt Cardona, Nick Gage Brawl". eWrestling. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  188. ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "Nick Gage vs. Matt Cardona To Headline GCW Homecoming Night One". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  189. ^ a b Guzzo, Gisberto (June 11, 2021). "Matt Cardona Defeats Nick Gage At GCW Homecoming To Capture GCW World Championship". Fightful. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  190. ^ "Zack Ryder is dead – Why Matt Cardona is the best character on the indies". Atletifo. July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  191. ^ "Matt Cardona presenta el nuevo Campeonato de GCW, basado en el Spinner de WWE". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. September 2, 2021.
  192. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 4, 2021). "GCW The Art Of War Games – Pay Per View @ Grand Sports Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  193. ^ Carey, Ian (February 25, 2022). "GCW Welcome to Heartbreak live results: X-Pac & Joey Janela vs. Matt Cardona & Brian Myers". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  194. ^ "Matt Cardona gana el Campeonato mundial de peso pesado de NWA | Solowrestling". Solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  195. ^ MacDonald, Josiah (March 20, 2022). "NWA Crockett Cup night two live results: Six title matches, tournament final". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  196. ^ Rose, Bryan (June 11, 2022). "Trevor Murdoch wins NWA World Heavyweight Title at Alwayz Ready". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  197. ^ MacDonald, Josiah (November 12, 2022). "NWA Hard Times 3 live results: Trevor Murdoch vs. Tyrus vs. Matt Cardona". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  198. ^ Siino, John (February 11, 2023). "NWA Nuff Said Report: Tyrus vs. Matt Cardona, EC3 signs with NWA". Post Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  199. ^ Thompson, Andrew (May 21, 2023). "Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander to debut for DDT Pro-Wrestling, Cardona challenging for Universal Title". Post Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  200. ^ a b Thompson, Andrew (July 23, 2023). "DDT Pro-Wrestling 'Wrestle Peter Pan' Results (7/23/23): Chris Brookes, Matt Cardona win titles, Desperado vs. Sasaki". Post Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  201. ^ Fernandes, Steve (July 23, 2023). "Matt Cardona Wins Gold In Japan's DDT". PWInsider. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  202. ^ "Matt Cardona debuts Sept 3 at FURY ROAD". MLW.com. July 18, 2023.
  203. ^ DeFelice, Robert (September 3, 2023). "MLW Fury Road 2023 (9/3/23) Results: Matt Cardona, Alex Kane, KUSHIDA, Maki Itoh, And More Compete". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  204. ^ Ravens, Andrew (October 15, 2023). "MLW Slaughterhouse 2023 Results: Chamber Of Horrors, World Title Match". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  205. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 2, 2023). "Matt Cardona To Challenge For MLW World Heavyweight Title At MLW One Shot". Fightful. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  206. ^ Black, Matt (December 7, 2023). "MLW One-Shot Results – December 7, 2023: Alex Kane Defends Against Matt Cardona". Wrestlezone. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  207. ^ TNA Wrestling Staff (August 1, 2024). "TNA iMPACT! on AXS TV Results: August 1, 2024". TNA Wrestling. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  208. ^ Leatherland, Noah (January 30, 2022). "Matt Cardona is Showing How an Ex-WWE Wrestler Can Have Success on the Indies". The Sportster. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  209. ^ Harris, Jeffrey (April 10, 2022). "Matt Cardona Wins Another Title, Tells Promoters to Stop Booking Him Against Their Champions". 411Mania. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  210. ^ Defelice, Robert (February 27, 2022). "Matt Cardona Wins NYWC Championship, Now Holds Six Belts". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  211. ^ Pizzazz, Manolo Has (July 23, 2023). "Matt Cardona claims partial ownership of WWE women's tag titles & wins DDT Pro championship in Japan". Cageside Seats. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  212. ^ "Titles - Matt Cardona". Cagematch. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  213. ^ Powell, Jason (June 1, 2020). "WWE broadcaster Scott Stanford on how he got his start with the company, appearing on Zack Ryder's True Long Island Story". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  214. ^ Joonie Wrestling (September 8, 2018). "When WWE removed Zack Ryder from his YouTube show". Súper Luchas. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  215. ^ @WWEMaverick (January 27, 2021). "Without THIS MAN your Twitter, Instagram, YouTube promo wouldn't exist. Doesn't get the credit he deserves for completely changing the way a person could connect with their fan base" (Tweet). Retrieved January 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
  216. ^ a b "About TheMattCardona". YouTube.
  217. ^ Ryder, Zack [@ZackRyder] (May 3, 2018). "I have barely used my @youtube channel since my show, Z! True Long Island Story, in 2011, but @youtube just sent me this award. I'll gladly accept it and hang it up in my office! (I consider this a #tbt)" (Tweet). Retrieved September 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  218. ^ "Video – latest Zack Ryder YouTube episode with WWE roster cameos". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  219. ^ "WWE News: Internet title- is it time?". WWE. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  220. ^ Caldwell, James (April 28, 2010). "WWE News: Zack Ryder's latest YouTube episode – Internet champion, mock Did You Know, Shake Weight (w/VIDEO)". PWTorch. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  221. ^ Martin, Adam. "7/3 WWE Results: Perth, Australia". Wrestleview. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  222. ^ Tello, Craig. "The untold history of the Internet Title". WWE. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  223. ^ "| Wildcat Championship Belts". www.wildcatbelts.com. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  224. ^ "Z! True Long Island Story Episode # 50 !!". YouTube. January 27, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  225. ^ "WWE Videos: What is Ryder's big reveal on Episode #100". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  226. ^ "WWE NEWS: Ryder talks WWE frustrations – missing WM?, what he regrets about YouTube show, which big star gave him advice?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  227. ^ "Zack Ryder Launches New Web Series as His 'Last ReZort'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  228. ^ "Z! True Long Island Story # 101 – The JBL (not Cole) Show- Ep.#99". Youtube. WWE. October 17, 2014. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  229. ^ "The Twitter 100". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  230. ^ "Zack Ryder – Hoeski (Official Music Video)". YouTube. January 16, 2013. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  231. ^ "Zack Ryder – Hoeski (Official Music Video)". YouTube. January 18, 2013. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  232. ^ "WWE NEWS: Ryder's Hoeski slips; Cena ends "poop chart" vow?". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  233. ^ "Zack Ryder to appear on 'Toy Hunter'". WWE. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  234. ^ Corey, Clayton (September 2, 2011). "Superstar roster revealed for THQ's "WWE '12"". WWE.com. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  235. ^ "Superstars and Divas featured on WWE 2K16 roster list". WWE. September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  236. ^ "Zack Ryder Launches Z! True Comeback Story Series (Video) – SEScoops". SEScoops. March 18, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  237. ^ W. Johnston, Jeffry. "Celebrity Collector: Why WWE Superstar Zack Ryder is the Michael Jordan of Wrestling Figure Collecting". Entertainment Earth. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  238. ^ "Matt Cardona to Star in 'The Last Match: A Pro Wrestling Rock Musical'". August 19, 2022.
  239. ^ "FULL CAST, CREATIVE TEAM REVEALED FOR 'THE LAST MATCH' MUSICAL THIS MONTH IN NEW JERSEY | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
  240. ^ Rift, Aaron (May 22, 2023). "Matt Cardona brings back Zack Ryder and Z! True Long Island Story with a Vince McMahon parody".
  241. ^ "Hoeski". iTunes. February 4, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  242. ^ San, Jon (March 13, 2020). "Inside WWE star Zack Ryder's million-dollar toy collection". Yahoo. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  243. ^ Gunier, Robert (January 1, 2022). "Photos: Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green Marry In Las Vegas, Impact, AEW, & WWE Stars Attend". Wrestling.Inc. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  244. ^ "WWE Superstar Zack Ryder debuts new Ghostbusters inspired ring gear". November 28, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  245. ^ "Mick Foley Endorses Zack Ryder Ghostbusters Documentary". Wrestlezone. November 9, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  246. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 2, 2021). "AIW Absolute Championship". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  247. ^ "Matt Cardona Crowned New AIW Absolute Champion". www.wrestling-news.net. March 25, 2023.
  248. ^ "AIW Absolution XVI Results (7/15): Isaiah Broner Wins AIW Absolute Title From Matt Cardona | Fightful News". www.fightful.com.
  249. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 2, 2021). "AIW One Step Ahead – TV-Show @ Tadmor Shrine in Akron, Ohio, USA". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  250. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 2, 2021). "AIW Intense Championship". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  251. ^ Defelice, Robert (April 9, 2022). "Matt Cardona Wins Seventh Title, Asks Promoters To Stop Giving Him Championship Opportunities". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  252. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 9, 2022). "ASW Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  253. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 5, 2023). "Jericho Cruise 2023 - Tag 4 - Event @ Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship in USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  254. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 5, 2023). "Jericho Cruise Oceanic Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  255. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 5, 2023). "Jericho Cruise Oceanic Championship Tournament (2023)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  256. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 23, 2023). "DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2023". cagematch.net. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  257. ^ "ESW Brawlfest 2023 - Event @ Riverworks in Buffalo, New York, USA".
  258. ^ @ESWWrestling (May 14, 2023). "Adding another one to his collection: #ANDNEW ESW Heavyweight Champion, Matt Cardona!! #ESWBrawlfest" (Tweet). Retrieved September 25, 2023 – via Twitter.
  259. ^ "ESW Heavyweight Championship".
  260. ^ Cardona, Matt [@TheMattCardona] (January 20, 2023). "Ok. We get it. I am The INDY God! Enough awards… JK! Give me all the awards! I'll put them next to my Slammys! https://t.co/EW2QfYAw7z" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Twitter.
  261. ^ The First Annual FIGHTFUL AWARDS! | Sean Ross Sapp, Denise Salcedo, Will Washington | WWE, AEW, NJPW. Fightful Wrestling with Sean Ross Sapp. January 20, 2023. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via YouTube.
  262. ^ Johnson, Mike (August 12, 2024). "Former WWE Star Appears In New Cirque Du Soliel Doc, Train With Joe Hendry, New Ppv Celebrates Da Crusher & The Bruiser And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  263. ^ "Matt Cardona 'Wins' ECW TV Title By Beating Rhino At GCW Most Notorious". Wrestle Zone. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  264. ^ "Title Reigns « HOG Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". CageMatch. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  265. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 21, 2022). "Impact Digital Media Championship". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  266. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 12, 2022). "NWA Powerrr Trip Taping – TV-Show @ Valor Hall in Oak Grove, Kentucky, USA". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  267. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 12, 2022). "NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  268. ^ Rose, Bryan (June 11, 2022). "Trevor Murdoch wins NWA World Heavyweight title at Alwayz Ready". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  269. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 26, 2022). "NYWC Psycho Circus 19 - Event @ Farmingville Fire Department in Farmingville, New York, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  270. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 26, 2022). "NYWC Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  271. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 30, 2022). "NYWC April Reign 2022 - Event @ Copaigue Fire Department in Copaigue, New York, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  272. ^ "OVW championship histories". Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  273. ^ "Matt Cardona Becomes Inaugural Premiere Men's World Champion". September 10, 2023.
  274. ^ "News and Tax Day Card Information updated". PWF. March 27, 2006. Archived from the original on April 14, 2006. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  275. ^ "The Majors Brothers - Brian & Brett". Deep South Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  276. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2022". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  277. ^ Cardona, Matt [@TheMattCardona] (January 12, 2023). "I'M THE INDEPENDENT WRESTLER OF THE YEAR! I try to give back and elevate anybody I'm in the ring with on the indies…teach them something, get them more exposure, etc. But I'm not here to pass the torch…I'm here to light a new one! #AlwayzReady #StillHere @OfficialPWI https://t.co/wB4cMwDrN2" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Twitter.
  278. ^ "SCX Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". CageMatch. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  279. ^ Cardona, Matt [@TheMattCardona] (April 9, 2023). "It's undeniable…I'm THE INDY GOD! But with @stephdelander by my side, how much longer will we stay??? Internet Champ ✅ @WrestShowcase Champ ✅ @IAmJericho Oceanic Champ ✅ @WSWWrestlingAUS Champ ✅ @aswwrestling Champ ✅ @aiwrestling Champ ✅ @SquarCircleExpo Champ ✅" (Tweet). Retrieved September 25, 2023 – via Twitter.
  280. ^ @SquarCircleExpo (April 9, 2023). "In a finish that caught us all by surprise....AND NEW #SCXCHAMPION....MATT CARDONA!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 25, 2023 – via Twitter.
  281. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 11, 2023). "WSW Unleash Hell - Tag 2 - TV-Show @ South Eastern Entertainment Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  282. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 11, 2023). "WSW World Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  283. ^ "WWE Intercontinental Championship". Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  284. ^ "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  285. ^ "Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder's first Tag Team Championship reign". Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  286. ^ "The Great American Bash 20 Man Battle Royal « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". CageMatch. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  287. ^ "What is a Slammy?". WWE. February 23, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  288. ^ "The Slammy Awards". www.prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  289. ^ a b "The Slammy Awards". www.prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  290. ^ "The Wrestling Showcase Results - September 3, 2022". September 3, 2022.
  291. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 3, 2022). "Wrestling Showcase Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  292. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 3, 2022). "Wrestling Showcase Title Tournament (2022)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  293. ^ "Xcite International Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". CageMatch. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  294. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 18, 2020). "Internet Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
[edit]