Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder in WWE, is enjoying a career renaissance of sorts in IMPACT Wrestling.
Since he debuted with the company this past January, Cardona has been facing new opponents and proving himself in a variety of ways. In an interview with SteelChair Wrestling Magazine, Cardona reflected on his first few months with the company. He emphasized that he continues to enjoy this opening stretch, but he has his sights set on the IMPACT World Championship, a prestigious prize that has escaped his grasp.
“I’ve wrestled a lot of the top stars, but there’s also a bunch of people I haven’t been in the ring with, most importantly the World Champion Kenny Omega,” said Cardona. “I know he’s from the other company but, right now, he holds the title. It doesn’t matter if it’s Kenny or Sami Callihan or Moose. It doesn’t matter to me, if you have that Impact title, I want it.”
Otherwise, Cardona named several other competitors he’d like to face. From a young star like Ace Austin to a former rival in Tommy Dreamer, Cardona would like to compete against any number of the remarkable names on the IMPACT Wrestling roster.
“There are so many guys like Tommy Dreamer, who’s still around,” said Cardona. “I thought I retired him over 10 years ago [during their feud on WWE ECW in December 2009], but he’s still kicking. If I need to retire him for good, one last hardcore match, I would love to do that.
Of course, despite the fact that they’ve already had a lengthy feud, Cardona remains interested in settling the score with his former partner, Brian Myers once and for all. The self-proclaimed Internet Champion made it clear that he has been lobbying for a match with Myers at the Slammiversary pay-per-view.
“…After Slammiversary, I just want to be done with Brian Myers,” said Cardona. “I deal with him enough every day with the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast. I don’t want to team with him on IMPACT, I don’t want to wrestle him, I’m done with Brian Myers. He’s somebody who when he runs his mouth, you just want to slap him in the face and, trust me, if I get that opportunity at Slammiversary, I’m gonna slap the teeth right out of his mouth.”
“I’ve been begging Scott D’Amore like, ‘Please, give me Brian Myers at Slammiversary.’ I don’t care if it’s an unsanctioned match, a blindfold match, a submission match, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want Brian Myers, and I just want to beat him one last time, and then that’s it, I’m done with Brian Myers.”
Cardona stated that he has been having fun with IMPACT Wrestling, as he feels freed in his effort to help the company however he can alongside his fellow competitors.
“This is like just a very, very fun time for my career, but I’m loving that,” said Cardona. “Every week on IMPACT, I get to get in there with somebody and try to steal the show, and there are no handcuffs, there are no restrictions, it’s “go out there and make this show the best it possibly can be” and all the wrestlers are trying to do just that.”
Finally, though Cardona is 36, he explained that in many ways, he’s just getting started, as he feels like he’s still a “baby” in his journey as a wrestler.
“It’s not even a new chapter, I think it’s a new book, a whole new book, and that’s the best part about it,” said Cardona. “I’m very grateful for everything I’ve accomplished in my career so far, but I am not done yet, I’m only 36 and, in wrestling, that’s still being a baby, so I still got a lot of time left. Look at Dreamer, he’s like 50 years old, he got a World Title shot. If Dreamer can do it, I can do it.”
