Matt Cardona Explains Why Zack Ryder Had To Die For His WWE Return To Happen

TLDR

Matt Cardona believes his WWE comeback wouldn't have happened if he hadn't moved on from his Zack Ryder character, stating "Zack Ryder needed to die for Matt Cardona to live." After his 2020 WWE release, Cardona rebuilt himself on the independent wrestling scene with his "Indie God" persona, which eventually led to his return to WWE last year. Cardona credits both chapters of his career as essential to getting back to WWE, saying he wouldn't be there without his work as both Zack Ryder and the independent version of Matt Cardona.