– Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) is reportedly not signed to a WWE contract.
Both WWE and Cardona confirmed that his SmackDown return was a one-off appearance for now. He does have a merchandising agreement in place, and Zack Ryder merchandise went on sale shortly after his return.
(Source: Fightful)
– Nic Nemeth was hyped about the first women’s Blood and Guts match, saying, “You are not going to see that in 2 and a half weeks.” He loved how wild it got—“sky blue…drenched, looking like Cactus Jack, drenched in blood, like grinning with it too…that’s awesome, that’s old school pro wrestling.” He couldn’t get over moments like “blood everywhere, broken glass, Rina Shafir stomping on broken glass with her bare foot before she kicked somebody,” calling it “an absolute statement.”
Beyond the chaos, Nemeth really liked the storytelling. He said, “we are going to make our top baby face sit there and watch her best friend…be tortured until she has to end it, like, will she do it, won’t she, that’s great.” For him, it was the mix of blood, brutality, and emotional stakes that made the match so memorable: “that’s where that extra emotion is, mixed in with the gore.” He wrapped it up noting the lasting image: “when they were standing there at the end of that night, covered in blood, grinning and gross and broken glass everywhere, you are not going to see that in two and a half weeks, no matter how good the story is.”
Source: Busted Open Radio