Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Matt Cardona
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Matt Cardona made an impact.
Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He initially gained prominence in WWE from 2006 to 2020. After his WWE departure, Cardona became a significant figure on the independent wrestling scene and also had a stint in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He has since returned to WWE, where he currently performs on the SmackDown brand using his real name. Cardona is recognized for his in-ring work and his ability to reinvent himself throughout his career.
4 hours ago : Matt Cardona attacks Randy Orton; WWE announces injury; Chelsea Green interferes.
Matt Cardona assaulted Randy Orton on SmackDown using a microphone. Subsequently, WWE revealed that a top star suffered a broken wrist. Chelsea Green disrupted Cardona's plans following the attack.
2004: Professional Wrestling Debut
In 2004, Matt Cardona debuted in professional wrestling, forming a team with Brian Myers on the independent circuit.
2004: NYWC Debut
In 2004, Matt Cardona debuted with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) using the name Brett Matthews.
April 21, 2005: First WWE Appearance
On April 21, 2005, Matt Cardona made his first WWE appearance on SmackDown!, losing to Matt Morgan.
January 25, 2006: Second NYWC Tag Team Championship
On January 25, 2006, Brett Matthews and Brian Myers won the NYWC Tag Team Championship for the second time by defeating Team Tremendous.
February 24, 2006: Signs WWE Developmental Contract
On February 24, 2006, Matt Cardona signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
2006: WWE Signing
In 2006, Matt Cardona signed with WWE, performing there until 2020 under the ring name Zack Ryder.
May 2007: Move to Main Roster
In May 2007, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers were moved to the main roster and worked on WWE's ECW brand.
2007: Main Roster Debut
In 2007, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers debuted on the main roster of WWE.
2007: Move to OVW
Later in 2007, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship.
April 15, 2009: Drafted Back to ECW
On April 15, 2009, Zack Ryder was drafted back to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 supplemental draft, separating the team of Hawkins and Ryder.
May 5, 2009: Return to ECW
On May 5, 2009, Zack Ryder returned to ECW with a new look and character.
2009: Team Split
In 2009, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers split as a team, with Cardona making appearances on WWE's ECW brand.
February 2010: Move to Raw Brand
In February 2010, Zack Ryder moved to the Raw brand after the end of the ECW brand.
2010: ECW Appearances
In 2010, after the team split in 2009, Matt Cardona made appearances on WWE's ECW brand until it ended.
February 2011: Z! True Long Island Story
In February 2011, Zack Ryder started a YouTube web series called Z! True Long Island Story to promote his character, gaining a dedicated fan following.
2011: 2011 Success
2011 was noted as a successful year for Zack Ryder with Pro Wrestling Torch writer Benjamin Tucker.
2011: "Ryder Revolution" Kickstart
In 2011, Matt Cardona as Zack Ryder kickstarted the "Ryder Revolution" with his social media influencer persona, "Long Island Iced Z".
2011: Used on Superstars
In 2011, Matt Cardona mostly became used on the non-branded Superstars show.
2011: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 Appearance
In 2011, Zack Ryder appeared in the WWE video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011.
December 2012: Singles victory on Raw
Matt Cardona's last singles victory on Raw was in December 2012. This was before his victory in 2014.
2012: Commented that the year had "sucked"
As 2012 drew to a close, Matt Cardona, known as Zack Ryder at the time, commented that the year had "sucked", reflecting on his experiences throughout the year 2012.
2012: Romantic Storyline with Eve
In 2012, Zack Ryder started trying to romance Eve as part of a romantic storyline and became a target of Kane, and later joined Theodore Long's team at WrestleMania XXVIII.
January 11, 2013: Z! True Long Island Story Ended
On January 11, 2013, the 100th and final episode of "Z! True Long Island Story" was released, marking the end of the series on WWE's official YouTube channel. The show was ended by Dolph Ziggler, who attacked Ryder with his Money in the Bank briefcase
January 16, 2013: "Hoeski" Music Video Release
On January 16, 2013, Zack Ryder released a music video entitled "Hoeski", which quickly gained popularity.
February 5, 2013: "Hoeski" Peaked on iTunes Pop Chart
On February 5, 2013, Zack Ryder's song "Hoeski" peaked at No. 92 on the iTunes Pop Music chart.
2013: Singles Matches Losses and Royal Rumble Appearance
In 2013, Matt Cardona, as Zack Ryder, frequently appeared on Superstars, losing all his singles matches on Raw and SmackDown. He entered the 2013 Royal Rumble match, his only PPV match of the year, and was quickly eliminated.
January 2014: Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter ranking
In January 2014, the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter ranked Matt Cardona, wrestling as Zack Ryder, as a lower-tier babyface, and the third lowest babyface on the WWE roster.
March 10, 2014: Zack Ryder's Last ReZort Series Launch
On March 10, 2014, Zack Ryder uploaded the first episode of his new series, Zack Ryder's Last ReZort, to his own YouTube channel. In this video, Ryder expressed his frustration regarding his dramatic plunge to the bottom of the roster
October 2014: WWE's YouTube Series Takeover
In October 2014, Ryder and Dolph Ziggler "took over" an episode of WWE's YouTube series, The JBL (Not Cole) Show for its 99th episode, making it in turn the 101st episode of Ryder's show, Z! True Long Island Story.
January 25, 2015: Royal Rumble return and elimination
On January 25, 2015, Matt Cardona, as Zack Ryder, returned at the Royal Rumble, entering the Rumble match at No. 9 and was quickly eliminated by Bray Wyatt.
June 2015: NXT Debut and The Hype Bros Formation
In June 2015, Matt Cardona, as Zack Ryder, debuted in WWE's developmental system NXT, forming a tag team with Mojo Rawley known as The Hype Bros.
June 2015: Singles Matches on Superstars and Main Event
Starting in June 2015, Matt Cardona, as Zack Ryder, continued wrestling on Superstars and Main Event, suffering singles losses but also trading wins with various opponents.
March 2016: Singles Matches on Superstars and Main Event
Until March 2016, Matt Cardona, as Zack Ryder, continued wrestling on Superstars and Main Event, suffering singles losses but also trading wins with various opponents.
March 18, 2017: Z! True Comeback Story Launch
On March 18, 2017, it was announced that Zack Ryder would be launching a new YouTube series called Z! True Comeback Story, chronicling his return to the ring after suffering a knee injury.
June 13, 2017: Return to SmackDown and Hype Bros Reunion
On June 13, 2017, Matt Cardona, as Zack Ryder, returned on SmackDown, reuniting with Mojo Rawley.
2018: The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast
In 2018, Zack Ryder started a podcast with Curt Hawkins about wrestling figures called The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.
April 2020: Release from WWE
In April 2020, Matt Cardona was released by WWE.
July 29, 2020: AEW Debut on Dynamite
On July 29, 2020, Matt Cardona debuted in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on Dynamite, saving Cody from an attack by Alex Reynolds and John Silver of The Dark Order.
2020: Reinvention After WWE Departure
After his departure from WWE in 2020, Matt Cardona reinvented himself as a "super-fan of all things wrestling" who paid tribute to WWE in order to rile up fans on the independent circuit.
2020: Departure from WWE
In 2020, Zack Ryder, known as Matt Cardona, ended his tenure with WWE after having been with the promotion since 2006.
January 16, 2021: Impact Wrestling Debut
On January 16, 2021, Matt Cardona made his surprise debut in Impact Wrestling at Hard To Kill, defeating Ace Austin by disqualification.
June 6, 2021: GCW Debut and Attack on Nick Gage
On June 6, 2021, Matt Cardona debuted with GCW at Zombie Walk, attacking Nick Gage.
2021: Independent Promotions Work Begins
Beginning in 2021, Matt Cardona worked on several independent promotions, most notably Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), leading to recognition as the "Indy God".
January 8, 2022: Impact World Championship Match
On January 8, 2022, at Hard To Kill, Matt Cardona was unsuccessful in capturing the Impact World Championship in a three-way match also involving W. Morrissey.
April 2022: "Belt Collector" Gimmick and Title Count
In April 2022, Matt Cardona, embraced a "belt collector" gimmick, holding as many as seven titles representing five different promotions.
August 20, 2022: Joined "The Last Match" Cast
On August 20, 2022, it was revealed that Matt Cardona had joined the cast of "The Last Match: A Pro-Wrestling Rock Musical" as Alexander Swagger.
May 14, 2023: Departure from Impact Wrestling
On May 14, 2023, Matt Cardona confirmed that he was officially done with Impact Wrestling.
May 22, 2023: New Z! True Long Island Story Episode
On May 22, 2023, Matt Cardona posted a new episode of Z! True Long Island Story as Zack Ryder where he chased Persia Pirotta into a limousine to get back the Internet Championship, but was unable to do so as it would explode, kayfabe killing both of them.
September 2023: "Belt Collector" Title Count Update
By the end of September 2023, Matt Cardona held nine different wrestling belts as part of his "belt collector" gimmick.
2023: DDT Universal Championship Win
In 2023, Matt Cardona appeared with Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling, defeating Tetsuya Endo for the DDT Universal Championship at Wrestle Peter Pan 2023.
March 28, 2024: TNA Impact Return
On the March 28, 2024 episode of TNA Impact, Matt Cardona along with Steph De Lander returned to TNA in an 8-4-1 match.
March 30, 2024: AEW Collision Return
On the March 30, 2024 episode of AEW Collision, Matt Cardona returned to AEW, accepting Adam Copeland's open challenge for the AEW TNT Championship, but was ultimately defeated.
December 5, 2024: ROH Debut
On December 5, 2024, Matt Cardona made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut, challenging Chris Jericho to an ROH World Championship match at Final Battle, but he was defeated.
2024: End of AEW contract
In 2024, it was reported that Matt Cardona was no longer under contract with AEW.
January 23, 2025: TNA World Championship Challenge
On the January 23, 2025 episode of TNA Impact, Matt Cardona returned to challenge Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship in a losing effort.
October 14, 2025: WWE Return Match on NXT
On the October 14, 2025 episode of NXT, Matt Cardona returned to WWE in a match against Josh Briggs, which he lost. This marked his first match in WWE in five years as part of the TNA invasion storyline.
October 2025: Return to WWE
Matt Cardona returned to WWE in October 2025.
January 2, 2026: SmackDown Roster Signing
On January 2, 2026, Matt Cardona signed with WWE as part of the SmackDown roster, working as Matt Cardona where he defeated Kit Wilson.
January 2026: Re-Signing with WWE
Matt Cardona re-signed with WWE in January 2026.
2026: WWE Rehire
In 2026, Matt Cardona credited his work with GCW as the center of his success as the Indy God and the reason WWE rehired him.
2026: Work on independent promotions ends
In 2026, Matt Cardona finished working on several independent promotions, including Game Changer Wrestling (GCW).
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