GCW World Champion Matt Cardona has quickly become one of the most hated heels in Game Changer Wrestling, but he’s also a beloved babyface in IMPACT Wrestling and elsewhere.
It’s rare to see this type of stark contrast in the current landscape of professional wrestling, and during a recent appearance on the Battleground Podcast, Cardona called this dynamic one of his favorite parts of the remarkable run he’s on right now.
“I’m being me,” said Cardona. “I’m not turning into this heel or this bad guy. The Matt Cardona in GCW is the same Matt Cardona you see in IMPACT. It’s just like, the IMPACT people love me, and the GCW Universe hates me. It’s still me. So that’s the best part about this dynamic is that I can do GCW and be hated. I can do these indies and be loved. I can do IMPACT and be loved. I’m just being me. Love me or hate me, I’m gonna be me.
Cardona recently revealed a custom GCW World Championship, which he is calling the GCW Universal Championship. On the podcast, Cardona described how he went about getting the title created during a “time crunch.”
“As soon as I won, I had to get it done,” said Cardona. “I usually use Wildcat [Championship] Belts for all my belts. I contacted him, he said he could not do it in time, so I was like oh shoot. You know like, I’m on a time crunch here, I need this for the next show. So I went with Belts by Dan, who was recommended to me by Conrad Thompson, and we worked together.
“Within a day or two, I sketched something up… I sent it to him, he designed it up, we’re going back and forth for a little bit, and yeah it was something I needed to get done instantly. The question is, is this the new GCW World Title, or is this the first-ever GCW Universal Title?”
Cardona then stated that he will carry both versions of the GCW Championship, though he believes his custom championship is “more credible.”
“I don’t have creative control in GCW, I don’t have the pencil.,” said Cardona. “But if I did, and I’m fantasy booking here, I would be the GCW World Champion and the GCW Universal Champion. I’m not gonna throw it in the trash, I’m not gonna throw it at the ground, I’m not gonna spraypaint it. Been there, done that.
“Everyone’s done that already. So I will carry that, but I will carry the new, more credible, in my opinion, Universal Championship.”
Cardona tweeted an image of the custom championship on Tuesday:
The Champ Is STILL Here! pic.twitter.com/tjTgPzHFi8
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) August 31, 2021
The GCW World Champion then explained that while there aren’t currently plans for him to show off the title in IMPACT Wrestling, you never know what will happen in wrestling.
“Listen, never say never, but as of now, that’s not my plan,” said Cardona. “What I love about wrestling especially in 2021, I feel like there’s so much going on, right? I feel like wrestling is so hot right now and I feel like each promotion is its own universe, like a superhero movie, going from universe to universe, where the stories don’t have to intertwine, you know, they’re its own thing everywhere, that’s what’s so fun about it.
“Like I said, I can be hated in GCW, and then walk into the IMPACT Zone and be beloved. So as of now, there’s no plan for me to cross over but money talks baby. If Brett [Lauderdale] and Scott D’Amore want to pay me big bucks to do both, I’ll do both.”
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