Matt Cardona

(Photo credit: Impact Wrestling)

Real name: Matthew Cardona
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 205 lbs.
Date of birth:
From: North Merrick, NY
Pro debut: 2004
Trained by: Mikey Whipwreck
Finishing move: Radio Silence

Biography

– In mid-2004, Cardona made his professional debut for NYWC as ‘Brett Matthews’
– On June 4, 2005, Matthews & Brian Myers defeated Maison Raige & Dickie Rodz to win the NYWC Tag Team Titles
– On July 30, 2005, Matthews & Myers defeated The Dead Presidents (Boog Washington & Lo Lincoln) to retain the NYWC Tag Team Titles
– On January 25, 2006, Matthews & Myers defeated Team Tremendous (Ken Scampi & Dan Barry) to win the NYWC Tag Team Titles for a second time
– On February 24, 2006, Cardona signed a WWE development deal. Soon after, it was announced that Myers had also signed a development deal
– On February 25, 2006, Matthews & Myers defeated Silent But Violent (Josh Daniels & Quiet Storm) to retain the NYWC Tag Team Titles
– On March 18, 2006, Matthews & Myers defeated Joey Braggiol & Mega to retain the NYWC Tag Team Titles
– On April 6, 2006, Matthews & Myers (now wrestling as Brett & Bryan Majors) made their DSW debuts
– On October 12, 2006, The Majors Brothers defeated The Untouchables (Deuce Shade & Domino) to win the DSW Tag Team Titles
– On October 26, 2006, The Majors Brothers defeated Urban Assault (Eric Perez & Sonny Siaki) to retain the DSW Tag Team Titles
– On January 19, 2007, The Majors Brothers defeated William Regal & Dave Taylor and The Samoan Fight Club (Afa Jr & Sonny Siaki) in a 3-Way Match to win the vacant DSW Tag Team Titles
– On February 15, 2007, The Majors Brothers defeated Team Elite (Mike Knox & Derrick Neikirk) by DQ to retain the DSW Tag Team Titles
– After WWE severed ties with DSW in April 2007, The Majors Brothers were re-assigned to OVW
– On May 1, 2007, The Major Brothers (having dropped the ‘s’) debuted on ECW, defeating Marcus Cor Von & Matt Striker
– On June 15, 2007, The Major Brothers defeated Bolin Services (Charles Evans, Justin LaRouche & Dr Tomas) in a Handicap Match to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles
– On June 17, 2007, The Major Brothers were drafted to Smackdown
– On December 21, 2007, the duo aligned with Edge and were renamed Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
– At The Great American Bash 2008, Ryder & Hawkins defeated The Miz & John Morrison, Jesse & Festus and Finlay & Hornswoggle in a 4-Way Match to win the WWE Tag Team Titles. They remain the youngest team to hold the titles
– On April 15, 2009, Ryder was drafted to ECW, separating the team for the first time in 4 years
– On May 5, 2009, Ryder debuted on ECW, sporting the look that he has become renowned for
– On December 29, 2009, Ryder defeated Tommy Dreamer, forcing Dreamer out of WWE
– After the closure of the ECW brand, Ryder was assigned to Raw
– On June 8, 2010, Ryder was announced as the mentor of Titus O’Neil on NXT Season 2
– On August 16, 2010, Ryder was on the wrong end of the second-shortest WWE Title match in history, losing to Sheamus in 11 seconds
– In February 2011, dissatisfied with his WWE position, Ryder started ‘Z! True Long Island Story’ on Youtube in an attempt to promote his character. The series eventually earned Ryder a sizable fan following
– On July 29, 2011, Ryder was appointed as the assistant to Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long
– On September 19, 2011, Ryder (with Hugh Jackman) defeated Dolph Ziggler
– On December 5, 2011, Ryder defeated Mark Henry in a No-DQ Match
– At TLC 2011, Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler to win the WWE United States Title
– In January 2012, Ryder became involved in the Kane-John Cena feud, frequently getting attacked by Kane
– At WrestleMania 28, Ryder was part of Team Teddy as they were defeated by Team Johnny in a 12-Man Tag Team Match
– In 2013, Ryder’s TV appearances became few and far between
– On July 21, 2014, Ryder won his first Raw match in 18 months, defeating Fandango after interference from Layla
– In November 2014, Ryder announced that he had torn his rotator cuff and would likely require surgery
– In June 2015, Ryder returned to WWE developmental, forming ‘The Hype Bros’ with Mojo Rawley
– In a dark match prior to Takeover: Brooklyn, The Hype Bros, Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady defeated Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder
– In a dark match prior to WWE’s Live MSG Special, Ryder defeated Bo Dallas
– At WrestleMania 32, Ryder defeated Kevin Owens, Stardust, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz & Sin Cara in a Ladder Match to win the WWE Intercontinental Title, but would lose it to Miz the next night on Raw
– In the 2016 WWE draft, Ryder was allocated to Smackdown
– On the Summerslam ’16 pre-show, American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable), The Hype Bros and The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) defeated The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch), The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) and Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango)
– On the TLC ’16 pre-show, The Hype Bros, American Alpha & Apollo Crews defeated The Vaudevillains, The Ascension & Curt Hawkins
– Following a knee injury, Ryder returned to action at Money In The Bank ’17, as The Hype Bros defeated The Colons (Primo & Epico)
– In late 2017, Rawley turned on Ryder, ending their team
– In the 2018 Superstar Shakeup, Ryder was moved to Raw, but would not appear on the show until December, spending the interval period competing on WWE’s B-shows
– In January 2019, Ryder reformed his tag team with Curt Hawkins
– On the WrestleMania 35 pre-show, Ryder & Hawkins defeated The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) to win the Raw Tag Team Titles
– The next night on Raw, Hawkins & Ryder again defeated The Revival to retain the Raw Tag Team Titles
– Ryder was released by WWE on April 15, 2020
– Cardona debuted in AEW on July 30, 2020, but never signed an official contract and would depart within a few months
– He made his Impact Wrestling debut at Hard to Kill 2021, where he defeated Ace Austin by disqualification
– At Hardcore Justice 2021, Cardona defeated Johnny Swinger in a Crate American Bash
– At Slammiversary 2021, Cardona & Chelsea Green defeated Brian Myers & Tenille Dashwood
– At Homecoming 2021, Cardona & Green defeated Petey Williams & Jordynne Grace
– On July 24, Cardona (portraying an exaggerated sports entertainer gimmick) defeated Nick Gage in a Death Match to win the GCW World Title
– At Emergence 2021, Cardona defeated Rohit Raju
– At Victory Road 2021, Cardona defeated Rohit Raju in a No-DQ Match
– On August 20, Cardona defeated Sam Stackhouse to retain the GCW World Title
– On September 4, Cardona defeated Frank The Clown to retain the GCW World Title, before losing it to Jon Moxley
– On October 2, Cardona defeated Joshua Bishop to win the AIW Absolute and AIW Intense Titles
– On October 9, Cardona defeated Effy in a Title vs. Career Match to win the Internet Title
– On November 6, Cardona defeated Sean Carr to retain the Internet Title
– On January 14, 2022, Cardona defeated Rhino at a GCW show to win the ECW Television Title
– On January 21, Cardona defeated Jordynne Grace to win the Impact Digital Media Title
– On February 4, Cardona defeated Rickey Shane Page to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– The next day, Cardona defeated Dan Maff to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– On February 11, Cardona defeated Wes Barkley to retain the AIW Absolute and AIW Intense Titles
– The next day, Cardona defeated Trevor Murdoch to win the NWA World Title
– At No Surrender 2022, Cardona defeated Jordynne Grace by DQ to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– On the following episode of Impact, Cardona defeated Jordynne Grace in a No-DQ Match to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– On February 26, Cardona defeated Michael Mistretta to win the NYWC Heavyweight Title
– On March 6, Cardona defeated Mysterious Q to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– On March 19, Cardona defeated Guido Maritato to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– At The 2022 Crockett Cup event, Cardona defeated Nick Aldis by DQ to retain the NWA World Title
– On the following episode of Powerrr, Cardona defeated The Pope to retain the NWA World Title
– On April 1, Cardona defeated Zicky Dice in a Falls Count Anywhere Match to retain the Impact Digital Media Title
– On April 9, Cardona defeated Richard Holliday to retain the NWA World Title and win the ASW Heavyweight Title
– On April 22, Cardona defeated Josh Prohibition to retain the AIW Absolute and AIW Intense Titles
– On September 3, Cardona defeated Josh Alexander & Jacob Fatu in the final of a tournament to become the first Wrestling Showcase Champion
– Later that day, Cardona defeated Jimmy Lloyd to retain the Internet Title
– On September 15, Cardona defeated Man Like DeReiss to retain the Internet Title
– The next day, Cardona defeated Mad Kurt to retain the Internet Title
– On September 18, Cardona defeated Gene Munny to retain the Internet Title
– On November 5, Cardona defeated Chance Prophet to retain the ASW Heavyweight Title
– Cardona won the 2023 Jericho Cruise Oceanic Title Tournament, defeating Flip Gordon in the final
– On February 26, 2023, Cardona defeated Danny Demanto in a No-DQ Match to retain the Jericho Cruise Oceanic Title
– On March 11, Cardona defeated Johnny Downunder to win the WSW Heavyweight Title and defended it against Brian Cage the next day
– On March 24, Cardona defeated Isaiah Broner, Matthew Justice & Joshua Bishop to win the AIW Absolute Title
– On April 8, Cardona defeated Jake Omen to win the SCX Title
– On April 22, Cardona defeated Joshua Bishop to retain the AIW Absolute Title
– On May 13, Cardona defeated Kevin Bennett to win the ESW Heavyweight Title, but lost it back later that day
– On May 19, Cardona defeated Jacob Fatu to win the HOG Heavyweight Title
– The next day, Cardona defeated Hardway Holloway to retain the AIW Absolute Title
– On May 28, Cardona defeated Phillip Cardigan to retain the Jericho Cruise Oceanic Title, the Internet Title and the Wrestling Showcase Title
– On June 3, Cardona defeated Jake Crist to retain the SCX Title
– On June 16, Cardona defeated Carlito by DQ to retain the HOG Heavyweight Title
– On July 23, Cardona defeated Tetsuya Endo to win the DDT Universal Title
– On July 29, Cardona defeated Brandon Scott to retain the Internet Title
– On August 5, Cardona defeated Kaide Lothbrok to win the Xcite International Title
– At NWA 75, Cardona defeated Ricky Morton
– At MLW Fury Road 2023, Cardona defeated Mance Warner in a Kiss My Foot Match
– On September 9, Cardona defeated Charles Manson & Jacob Fatu to retain the HOG Heavyweight Title and win the vacant Premier Men’s Title
– On September 15, Cardona defeated Homicide to retain the HOG Heavyweight Title
– On September 24, Cardona defeated Maki Ito to retain the DDT Universal Title
– On October 13, Cardona defeated Shawn Spears in a Street Fight to win the WSW Heavyweight Title
– At MLW Fightland 2023, Cardona defeated Mance Warner in a Loser Leaves MLW Match
– Cardona answered Adam Copeland’s TNT Title Open Challenge on the March 30, 2024 episode of AEW Collision
– Cardona suffered a torn pectoral muscle in April 2024 and would be ruled out of action for several months
– In his first match back, on August 11, Cardona defeated Devon Monroe to win the F1RST Wrestlepalooza Title
– On September 7, Cardona defeated Monroe to retain the F1RST Wrestlepalooza Title
– On October 20, Cardona defeated Martin Guerrero to retain the Internet Title
– Cardona returned to AEW at Winter Is Coming 2024, defeating Bryan Keith