Matt Cardona has made it clear that he’s been having the time of his life on his current run throughout the wrestling world. He continues to shine in IMPACT Wrestling and Game Changer Wrestling, and he recently popped up in a big way in the NWA. It’s fair to say that 2021 has been a banner year for the reigning Internet Champion, and he’ll hope to enter 2022 with even more momentum on his side by picking up a win at GCW Blood on the Hills.
At the show on Friday night, Cardona and Chelsea Green, his real-life fiancée, will face Effy and Allie Katch in a bout that will combine the respective stars’ rivalries with their opponents into a captivating clash. For Cardona, this match will be his chance to, in his words, get the “Eff” out, while Effy will be looking to avenge his previous loss to the busiest man in wrestling at GCW Fight Club.
In a new interview with WrestleZone, Matt Cardona previewed this heated tag team bout and described how his feud with Effy has been fun because it has let him try something new. He then pointed out that Effy personally continued his pattern of getting “screwed” in GCW when the latter won the Internet Championship at GCW Get Lost Alot.
“We gotta go back to the summertime when everything started with Nick Gage, I became the ‘Deathmatch King’, won the title, dropped the title, it was the Screwjob heard ’round the world, [Jon] Moxley took the strap, and then what’s next, right?” said Cardona. “What do I do next? Do I leave GCW? Do I just walk away? No, I needed something different. I needed something else to sink my teeth into, so I like trying things that I’ve never done before. I never wrestled Effy before, he’s definitely one of the hottest things, not only in GCW but on the indies.
“And when he screwed me again — I keep getting screwed in GCW — when he screwed me and won that Internet Title, it rocked my world, it rocked the Internet. It was something that you know, nobody ever expected. Like okay, this is a prop belt, he made it, this is actually the second version of it, it’s a fake thing and then someone wins it, and then like he really took it. He really went and did his shows with it. Whether it be his internet shows or all the indie shows he was doing. So it just made it fun, and the social media war has been great. The match we had in Atlantic City was great, and we’re keeping it alive.”
Cardona then expressed his excitement about the tag team match on Friday and noted that the other time he teamed up with Green, they were cheered in IMPACT Wrestling, whereas GCW fans passionately boo them. “The Deathmatch King” then offered fans a spoiler for GCW Blood on the Hills by saying that he won’t bleed during his match because he’ll have to hop onto a plane and go to his next show right after his high-profile contest. He stated that he simply can’t get bloodied because he won’t be able to shower at the venue GCW will be at on Friday.
“…LA, GCW, I’m super excited,” said Cardona. “Chelsea Green, to team with her is cool. It’s gonna be a weird dynamic because we are absolutely hated in GCW. The only time we teamed before was in IMPACT, [and] we were beloved. We’re gonna be hated. We’re gonna be hated, but spoiler alert, I don’t plan on bleeding because I’m so busy, I have to catch a red-eye flight and head to IMPACT.
“So I don’t want blood — there’s definitely not gonna be showers at whatever sh-tty arena this GCW show is at. So I don’t wanna bleed. You know, I gotta get on a flight, I gotta fly from, I think I’m going from LA to Atlanta to Louisville, Kentucky. So I can’t have blood in my hair and on my face and crusted into my eyes. Can’t have that.”
Moving forward, GCW continues to generate a lot of buzz; the promotion recently sold out the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom for its “The Wrld On GCW” show on January 23. As someone who has been at the forefront of the company’s rise in recent months, Cardona has a distinct perspective on how GCW can continue to grow from here on out. When asked about what goals the company should strive for in the aftermath of the Hammerstein sell-out, The Internet Champion shared his wish for the promotion to hold a show in the ECW Arena because he’s always wanted to wrestle there.
He then complimented the talented roster before he encouraged the company to “step it up” by improving some aspects of its production values.
“I mean, selfishly, I would love GCW to run in the ECW Arena,” said Cardona. “Honestly, maybe they have before. I don’t know. I didn’t know what GCW was until I got there. But I would love to go there because I’ve never wrestled there. And that’s an iconic building. But I think this is a time for GCW to really step it up, you know. Because now all the eyes are on the product. It’s such a great product, there’s so many different flavors of ice cream, if you will, so many different styles and characters.
“And oh man it’s just a great, great roster and a great, great show, but I think like okay, I think we need some f-cking ring aprons. I think we need a microphone that works. You know, I think we need to up the production quality. Listen, we’re not gonna compete with AEW and WWE in terms of production quality, no way, but let’s step it up a bit. Because you don’t want someone to turn it off because they can’t hear a promo someone is cutting if they’re watching on FITE TV, you know what I’m saying?”
Matt Cardona has previously criticized the promotion’s lack of ring aprons, and he has also shared a list of ways he can “fix” GCW. Time will tell if he’ll get the chance to implement these changes, but either way, a win at GCW Blood on the Hills would continue Cardona’s hot streak and help him end his remarkable year on a strong note.
Stay tuned for our full interview with Matt Cardona. More information about GCW Blood on the Hills is available here, and catch Cardona tonight on IMPACT Wrestling, where he’ll sign the contract for his IMPACT World Championship Match at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view on January 8.
Read More: Matt Cardona Is Having The Most Fun He’s Ever Had As A Wrestler: ‘I’m Living My Dream’
