Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Matt Cardona Is Back In WWE! Returning As Zack Ryder, Chelsea Green, His INSANE Figure Collection

Episode Date: July 28, 2026

Matt Cardona (@themattcardona) is a WWE pro wrestler competing on SmackDown. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Orlando, FL to discuss returning to WWE after almost 6 years away, his 2025 return as Zack Ryder in the John Cena tournament, possibly teaming up with his wife Chelsea Green, only needing the WWE Championship to be a Grand Slam Champion, how much his figure collection is worth, and more! Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide! COZY EARTH: Go to https://cozyearth.com/CVV for up to 20% off! BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT FACTOR: Get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year with the code INSIGHT50OFF at https://factormeals.com/INSIGHT50OFF PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/cvv SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! PRIZEPICKS: Download the PrizePicks app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now streaming on Disney Plus, the Hulu original series Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black, played by Emmy Rossum, on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur. New episodes week over week. Watch the Hulu original series Furious, now streaming only on Hulu on Disney Plus. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Flea! Great to see you. It's great to be seen. Thanks for having me.

I've interviewed Matt Cardona many times. I've never interviewed WWE superstar Matt Cardona. First time for everything. Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations. I appreciate that. Thank you.

I don't want to say I worked really hard to get back there, but I worked very, very hard to get back there, you know? I know that it was your goal throughout the Indies to, like, find a way. to get back to WWE. No? Yes and no. Okay.

So when I get fired, my knee-jerk reaction isn't, what do I got to do to get back there? I couldn't live my life that way. Yeah. But, you know, we're very big on what we're grateful for, goal setting. One of the goals was always to be the WWE champion. You can't beat the NBA champion unless you're WWE.

Right? So I had to get back there. But it wasn't like from day one, I'm going to prove them wrong. I'm going to get back there. No, and I say this all the time, too. I didn't want to prove people wrong. I didn't care about that.

I wanted to prove myself and my fans right. And I feel like I did. Did you feel like you were always confident there was going to be a path that led you back to a WWE contract? Bro, one point, I thought there was no way I'm getting back because I was doing everything. Indy rest of the year. Year after year. Cover of PWI. And I'll never forget, I was with Step the Land of the time because Chelsea had gone back.

And I texted Steph. I said, like, you need to get away from me. because I'm holding you down. There's no way I'm ever going back. Because if not, now when, right? You know what I'm saying? I didn't think it was going to happen. When Chelsea went back and you didn't get the call,

were you like, well, what the heck? Yeah, but not like why her and not me. Sure. But it was like a bunch of people at that time who were getting called back. And I was like, I'm doing the most out here. But I was so happy for her. And now look what she's done.

And I knew that was always going to happen. So how did this, first call come for the John Cena tournament when Zach Ryder returns to WWA. So from like September to when I re-debue in January, it's like a mind fuck for me. So like I'm curious like it was such like a whirlwinded of things. Like I'm definitely going to mix up the timeline a bit. But it starts in September, I believe. I'm doing TNA, but I'm not signed to TNA.

And I'm asked if I want to participate in the NXT invasion, like go invade NXT. And I'm like, well, if they think I really work for TNA, like, I went there, you know, and I got paid, right? But I didn't have a contract. I'm like, I'll sneak my way in here. So I did the invasion, which led to a match with Josh Briggs. And I saw it. That's cool. You know, got that.

I texted Triple H. Thank you for the opportunity. He texted back. It was all good. Shortly thereafter, maybe within that week, Chelsea was in Saudi Arabia doing media for the Royal Rumble. And she was there with Nick Kahn. I'd said something to the fact, like, did you see my husband on NXT? And he said something like, I've never met him.

Give him my number. So she did. What are you? Like, I called him or texted him immediately. Immediately. Hey, it's Matt Cardona, blah, blah, blah. I think it's that day or the next day he calls me. And he's very straightened to the point, which I love and respect.

And I said, what do you want? I said, I want to go back, right? It was as simple as that. It's like, okay, well, we need to set up a call with you in Triple H. This is great. Here we go. Yeah. that week we have a FaceTime call, me in Triple H,

or Zoom call, whatever. And it was a good call, but it wasn't a good call. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm like, there's nothing here. Like there was no offer to come back. I'm like, yeah. It was a very friendly, civil, respectful call. I'm like, all right, well, I guess back to being the Indy God, whatever.

But are you thinking yourself at this point, like, man, should I have asked for a job on this call? I definitely like said I was interested in coming back. But there was no like, yeah, we want to have you back. There was no, here's your offer. There was none of that, right? A couple weeks go by and he, he texted me, hey, do you have time to talk to them? I'm like, yep. And that's when he pitched me the, the Sina tournament thing. I said, I'm in, you know, and I'm assuming that I'm going to do this representing T&A as Matt Cardona. So Smackdown, you know,

films Fridays. You fly out Thursdays Tuesday of that week. I got a text from John Cohn from WWE Talent Relations. And he's like, hey, we got some T-shirts for you to approve. And I'm like, hot school, but how do you guys have my Mac Cardona logos? It's like, oh, no, you're Zach Ryder. I'm thinking, oh, fuck. Not that, I don't want to be with Zach Rogers. I don't have any gear. Because I like, what am I going to wear? My WrestleMania? Everything else, like, I sold off. So everything that I had was either one off like WrestleMania, title wing gear or stuff that was all like falling apart because it's years old. I'm like, oh, no. Luckily, always ready. Got gear made 24 hours. And then did the Cina tournament as Zach Ryder.

Why were you Zach Ryder in that tournament? I have no idea and I didn't care. I brought bold outfits. I said, you just tell me which one to put up. And at this point, did you know this was just a one-off? One-off? Even though you had conversations, an absolute one-off.

Nick Conn? It was an absolute one-off. I was hidden in the room all day. So I didn't talk to anybody before the match besides the producer and LA night, obviously. And I said, you just tell me which gear to put on because I got them both, right? Always ready. And then they said, Zach Ryder said, let's go, let's do it. Sold some shirts, right?

The woo, woo, woo, all that. And it was a great experience. And I thought, if this is it, like, this is perfect closure. But for years, you had been saying, Zach Ryder's dead. So for you to then come back five years later as Zach Ryder, what does that say? Listen, I would have been whatever they would. I thought to say that, but like, this is an opportunity. Yeah.

Right. You can't. And, you know, I've been. Busted my ass in these for years. I've been reaching out every once in a while when I was doing something cool for an opportunity. They're going to give me one. And I'm like, eh, no thanks.

I don't want to be Zach Ryder. Like, that's not how you do good business. Right. So then when you do end up getting signed, how do you make it so your Mac Hardona? Okay. So then, I think it's a one-off. I get the Triple H point, which is great.

I sold some eight by tens with that. Thank you, Triple H. And he's like, we'll keep in touch. And they did. And about a few weeks later, I was after a wrestlecade. Because after Thanksgiving, I'm eating dinner with the boys after signing all day in a match. And I got a call.

Like, you want to sign you? And I'm thinking, okay, like, I'm just assuming it's as Zach Ryder. So I get all this new Zach Ryder. Gear made, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then a week or so before my debut, I hear through the Great Vine, you're going to be Matt Cardona. Now I'm like, oh, shit, I need new Matt Cardona again. But, yeah, like, I am very proud that they thought there was more value in Matt Cardona. Cardona than Zach Ryder.

Because who else has left, like, okay, Braiser-a-Mone leaves and who comes, Scott Hall, comes back, Scott Hall, but he went to WCW. Sure. Right? I did this all on the Indies. No one's ever done that before. Gone to the Indies and come back as their indie persona.

He had gone to the Indies, created a whole new gimmick with a whole new name. Yep. And then debut in WWE under that. If anyone else has done it, put in the comments. Sure. I don't think anyone else has. If you were watching Backlash,

you might have seen a face that you recognize sitting behind Michael Cole and Wade Barrett. Not only did I have those awesome seats, I also got an impromptu interview with the Ms. and Kit Wilson. Check it out on my Instagram. Shout out to Seat Geek for the great tickets and shout out to Seat Geek for sponsoring this episode. With over 35 million downloads, Seat Geek is the number one rated ticketing app. There are more than 70,000 events listed on Seat Geek, including concerts, WWE, festivals, and more. Seekkeek has your back with all these tickets.

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with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. John Cena had some very nice things to say about you on social media after you win the John Cena tournament. And you know what? I don't know for sure, but I would assume he has something to do with me getting in that tournament. Really?

I'm just assuming. You know, he is somebody I always ask for advice. Even back in the day, like he was a big help in the Zee, Trulang Island Story Days. But even before that, he was always the guy. He's the champ and he's at the monitor watching every match at a house show and given advice, given feedback. And to this day, I believe if I called him or anyone else on the roster that he doesn't even have a personal relationship with, he'd be there for him. So what did it mean seeing those words that he put out about you after that match?

It was great. But like, I hate to say it because even now, like, you know, back in WW, right? like, it doesn't feel like, oh, my God, I'm back. I feel like, okay, I'm supposed to be back. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is just, I'm good enough to be there. I don't hate using the word deserve, but I've earned my right to be there.

I'm good enough to be there. So I don't feel like, oh, thank God I'm here. I can't believe I'm here again. Like, no, this is where I should be. The timing of you resigning with WWE, it just felt like serendipitous right around Christmas to them, right? Yep. Yep.

What a wonderful gift that must have been. It was a crazy gift. Like I said, it was a crazy couple of months because Chelsea and I were moving into a new house. It was the whole contract negotiations and not like, I want more money. Nothing like that. It was more like because I have all these outside things that I'm involved with. And WWE was so cool about me keeping my podcast, my toy line. But there was a couple of things legally that we had to work through.

It wasn't just like, okay, here's the contract, sign it. There were things that had to be written in. So you're able to still do all that stuff now. Yeah, I'm able to do the podcast, the toy company. Certain things, you can't with all the battles, right? I had like ditch whatnot. Like usually I would have sold these notes or whatnot. How much did the other notes sell for?

I think close to 200 bucks. Definitely over 100. But now like I can't sell these. Should we sign them and then I'll find a way to sell them? You should start a whatnot. I don't know. I got a lot of things going on. Crumbs made crumb cake, baby.

I love that phrase. I'm still a hustler at heart. That's the, if I could like, that's the one thing that I miss about the Indies is like I miss the hustle. I miss the grind. I miss going to these shows with my merch bag. You know, I miss all that. Because in WWE, like, they're selling your merch. In WWE, you know, like, first of all, in WW, there's a shower,

there's a locker room, there's bottles of water. Like, I take all these waters. Like, this is unbelievable. GCW, it'd be lucky if there's like a bottle of water for the whole roster. Now I'm like, I'm stealing these water bottles at the arena. Is there a part of you where it's like you were making all that stuff happen for yourself on the indie? So like you were truly earning it there, right?

In WWE, sure, you can control some things. but you can't control the overall narrative or you're creative, right? So there's a lot of things that are out of your control now. I said it the last time I was there, I'll say it now. In my opinion, there's only three things in WWE. You can control your gear, your physique, and your attitude, right? Like, that's it. Like on the Indies, I controlled everything, which was very stressful, but I also, I loved it.

But on the Indies, you're probably controlling it to the point of, like, who you want to work with, what the finish is going to be, where it's going to be on the card. Like, you had a lot of say, right? I didn't really care who I was wrestling or where I was in the card. Actually, I'd like to be like first so I can get out of there. Or right before intermission, go sell gimmicks in gear. But other than that, like, no, that stuff didn't, you know, I didn't really care like who I was wrestling or any of like wins and losses.

Oh my God, I didn't care about any of that. I cared about like, can I sell merch before? Like, what's the merch situation? What's the merch table situation? How does this run in WWE feel different from the first one? Because I feel like I'm my own. man now. You know, I'm not portraying some gimmick. And Zach Ryder, when I was, you know, 26 doing the woo-woo, that was me, right? But like I've grown up as a man, as a wrestler,

as a performer. I owe everything. The whole Matt Cardone run couldn't have happened without Zach Ryder. The reason I was successful in the Indies is because of everything I learned as Zach Ryder in WW4, like how to make merchandise, how to market yourself, how to do interviews like this. You know, how to use social media? All that came from WWE. When I came to the Indies, I was just going to use it all. Yeah. So when you did get re-signed with WWE, that first match back to kick off 2026 is with Kit Wilson. Yes. So how do you approach this match with Kit to make sure, like, you are making your stamp. Matt Cardona's back. Uh, I guess Matt Cardone's here. Well, I mean, ask Kit. I beat the shit out of him. He said you knocked

tooth out. I don't know if that's true, but I'm not saying it's not. Well, maybe you just went to the dentist for fun. You only have one chance to make a first impression. And this was a new, you know, a new version of me. Like maybe people, it was five, six years. Maybe people didn't even know who Zach Ryder was. So there's a new introduction to both Matt Cardone with people who knew Zach writer and to people who didn't. Did you listen to the commentary on the match? Did you watch the match back? You know, I never, I should say never, but I hardly ever watched myself back. I did not watch it back. Why don't you like to watch your matches? I just because I will critique everything.

And like I, if I liked it, I know if it was good or bad or if I liked it right after. I don't want to love something to watch it. Oh, which would have done that differently and then like not like it as much. So Michael Cole on commentary says it says it's the second greatest moment of your wrestling career. The first best being the match you had with him. I did hear that. I did. I must have saw a clip online.

Yeah, I did hear that. Talk to me about this. Michael Cole took, I think, the worst rough rider in history. We got to clip to that. It's horrible. Why is it so bad? Because he's not a wrestler. Sure.

There you go. That's the answer. The greatest commentator ever. He's the best, but he did not know how to take the rough rider. So talk to me about this match with Michael Cole. I don't remember much. I remember he's dressed as Triple H. I don't remember why.

All I remember is that he's dressed as Triple H and he takes the worst rough rider in history. Now that you're back in WWE, are the matches you want to have? Whoever holds the championships. I was never like a big dream match guy or I want to wrestle this guy, which match is going to get me on the Indies is which match is going to get me the most attention and the most money. And it's pretty much the same in WWE.

Like I want to be at the top. I think, you know, I'm grateful of my career, the highs and lows, been the U.S. champ, I see champ, tag champ. And it'd be great to have those again. I'm not going to say I don't want those. but I came back to be the WWE champion. You're on those graphics that people put out often of like their one championship away from being the Grand Slam champion.

Do you feel like it's within your grasp? I feel like I'm the closest I've ever been, especially now being back in WWE. I certainly felt on the Indies that I was closer to being the W. Champion as Maconanorn on the Indies than I ever was at Zach Ryder previously. That's an interesting statement. Right? And now I'm, you know, I'm back. So this is what I said to Triple H.

said, before I got recent, I said, I can't hit a home run if I'm not in the game. You know what I'm saying? And I honestly believe that. And you look at my win loss record, like, okay, I lose a lot, but when I win, I win like big. Yeah. And it just takes one win. And I've been counted out so many times throughout my career by the office, by the fans, by myself. And I just always come back. I always find a way to come back. I'm like a cockroach. You cannot kill me. Do you have like a promo up your sleeve that if they said, you've got two minutes? You're going to go into the middle of the ring. You've got two minutes on live TV.

Do you know what you'd say? I'm not saying cut that promo right now. You know what's really funny is because when I left WWE, I could probably count on two hands how many promos I cut in the ring, right? So I knew if I had any weak points on the Indies, it was cutting promos. So luckily, I could just do whatever I want. Are the Indies? So like I cut a promo before every single match. And sometimes, yes, I had an outline or if it was a storyline driven promo things I wanted to say.

But I would go out there and wing it and listen to the audience. And I got so comfortable on the microphone. So if WWE gave me that opportunity, I would love it. But if they gave it to me, you know, 10 years ago, I would have been shaking my roots. You worked so well as a heel on the end. So well. Yes. Maybe that's what we need in WWU.

Not maybe, definitely. Because I've said, and I said it on TV too, like, I let me. and I reinvented myself, blah, blah, blah. But who you see right now is not who I was on the Indies, right? Like the heel, ultimate opportunist, no redeeming qualities, Matt Cardona. Like, that's what I feel like WWE needs to see from me. Yeah.

So how does that happen? How do we get there? That's a great question. Is it you turning on someone or attacking someone? I don't know. I don't know exactly what it is. Is it just saying mean things to the fans? Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how we're going to get there.

but, you know, I'm always ready. Yeah. And I'm in the game. Sure. If the opportunity presents itself, I will capitalize. It's interesting because on the flip side, Chelsea was a heel. Yes. So good that she was getting cheered.

Yes. And now she's become a baby face from that. She is just dominating someone who absolutely maximizes their minutes, whether it be a two-segment match or 20 seconds backstage. She is an absolute star and the whole world is seeing it. Or dropping a Kendo stick on the world. way to the ring. She makes it a moment. And she's just, she's a pro. She's a pro's pro. And what do you think makes her so good at what she does? Because she's authentic and she doesn't

try to BS anybody and the fans can see that. And also, you know, she has a connection with the audience. Some people have it naturally. Some people have to figure out a way to get it. But she has it. Once you have a connection with the audience, you're set. Do you think that it could work if you and Chelsea Green were paired together in WWE? I mean, I would love that. I mean, I would love that. some of my greatest times in my career were when we were on the Indies together. It was just the best, like, traveling together. And it just made the matches so much easier, especially as me being a heel. I have this valet, you know, and also she could wrestle so we could do mixed tag team matches.

And then she can, you know, get involved physically. It was the perfect formula. But I feel like you could really be helping her out in her matches and vice versa. 100%. And that's what we did. Yeah. That's we did in the Indies. I feel like that could really work now.

And yeah, that's something that is in my back pocket. once WWE wants to do it, let's go. You were on the Indies at the same time as Dan Housen. That's right. And now he is crushing it in WWE. Doesn't surprise me one bit. I will say this. The only two Dan Houssons match I've ever seen is when I wrestle Dan Houss at a G.CW

and when I team with Dan Houss against Los Gars. But that's just not saying wrestling is not important, but it's everything else. And he has a connection with the audience that people love him. I knew he'd be a star in WWE. I could have never have predicted how big of a star he has become. He's mainstream. He's with the Knicks. It's unbelievable.

Is he the reason the Knicks won the championship? I believe so. I guess depends who you ask. But I mean, not only is he a huge star, but it's how quickly he got over. Yep. Like it was like within, I don't know, two weeks. And he became like top merch seller. And that first debut did not go over well.

He didn't let it phase him. And he just, he was confident in himself. And he just kept going. kept going and then everybody who didn't understand it, they quickly got it. What was two days later? Two days later when you see him on Raw, you're like, oh, this guy's fantastic. Exactly. Yeah.

Like what happened in the elimination chamber was what it was. Yep. But then him on Raw and the strange interactions with Adam Pierce, it's like that. I just don't think the fans understood it yet. Yes. And everybody gets it. They get it. They get that merch.

Yes. And then you had a segment with Dan Housin. Yeah. I mean, I've been leaching off them. It's good, right? I'll take it, baby. If you can share some camera time with the guy who's... One of the most over people in the company?

That's right. Why not? Why not? Yeah, absolutely. He, you know, obviously he uncursed the Knicks. They win the NBA finals. You know I said in a pitch to Debbie. Hey, I think I should do something in a dead house.

Maybe you should have uncursed Matt Cardona. Well, it kind of feels like he might have cursed Matt Cardona. into becoming Zach Ryder. Yeah, you know, I got a little electric shock, started doing the woo-woo a little bit. Yeah. I think, I don't know if Zach Ryder will ever be, you know, 100% Zach Ryder,

but who's to say we can't blend them both? Hmm, you know? Yeah. Even before all that with Dan Housin, I was wrestling Sammy Zane in Spain, I believe. And like, the fans, like I had Sammy down for the boot and I don't do the woo-woo anymore, they were chanting for them.

Like, how do I not give it to him? You know, so I'm like, ah, screw it. And like, why not? Right? Why not give the people what they want? How did you feel when Kevin Owens and Cody Rose were talking about you on Cody's podcast? Oh, boy. Honestly, I was pissed this because, like, they made it seem that like, all I would say is,

I want to be back in Debbie Blas. I'd only talk about it when I'd be doing things like this and you'd ask me a question. Yeah. You know? So it, it bothered me, but I'm over now. But it felt like it was being said in like good fun. Of course it was. Yes, it wasn't malicious.

I just did not appreciate that I didn't get a chance to come on and tell my version until I got resigned, you know? And then you went on Cody's podcast and you had a chance to say exactly what you just said here. But yeah, like it kind of feels like they were, I don't know, making a moment out of that. And, you know, at the time, like there's nothing I could have put out on social media because I would have lost. in the court of public opinion. You know, so I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to let it be. I think I spliced it up and made it seem like they were putting me over, you know,

but I wasn't going to go. I wasn't going to go after them because I would have lost that fight. Was there any opportunity within the six years that you were off or five plus years that you were away from WWE? Was there ever a conversation? Was there ever an opportunity that it might have turned in you going back earlier? I certainly tried. Yeah.

But I never turned out an offer. I never got an offer. every time I would do something cool, I'd reach out, or if it was like the Royal Rumble, I'd reach out. Like, listen, I wasn't blowing up their phones or anything like that. But if I did something cool, like, when I won indie wrestler of the year, or when I was on the cover of PWA, or when I won, like, the NWA title or something, I would always, you know, kind of let them know what I was doing because I can't assume that they're following me on

social media, you know, how to let them know. But it just never was meant to be at that point in time? Not yet. But it's funny how, like, I'm a big believer in, like, things happen when they're supposed to happen. Yes. Had you got signed for a one-off thing in 2023, maybe you wouldn't have been a full-time superstar.

Maybe you wouldn't have got re-signed. Yeah. And it's crazy because I think it was Tyson Kidd or Brian Myers reported it out, putting this out to me. I got signed when I was 20 and I got signed when I was 40. Oh, that's interesting. It's a crazy stat. Yeah.

You know? So what's the, how did the 20-year-old version of you approach a WWE contract? Well, that was. And how to, it had a 40-year-old version of you approach it? Well, the 20-year-old version of me just lucked into it, right? There was a, I was on the Indies doing one show a month, maybe two. And there was a tryout on www.com, like an application, fill it out. I'm like, well, I'm going to fill it out.

And I got it. And me and Brian Myers, we both got accepted the tryout. It was before a house show at the NASA Calcium. And we should have bet it sucked. And I'm like, you know what? Like, it's cool that W. At least they know who I am. We got a trial at 20 years old.

And a week or so later, I called from Tommy Dreber saying, you're hired. I'm like, what? I think they just needed to sign somebody from the trial. Like, let's sign those two blind kids who were the matching gear. That's amazing. And what are you going to do, turn them down? Yeah. I wasn't ready.

Now I'm always ready. So there's the difference. But look what that turned into? That turned into, what, 14 years? Something like that. 2006 I sign and I'm released in 2020. So yeah, do the math on that. Wow.

But in 2005, you had a dark match or a squash match. Yes. with Matt Morgan. Oh, my God, yeah. So this is before I'm signed. Extra Talent, me and Brian Myers. It's at Madison Square Garden. So we go and like, I've never been extra talent before.

I've never been backstage at a WW show before. So we go in. We're shaking everyone's head. Right? We don't, we've got to respect everybody to shake everyone's hand. Like the cameraman, the garbage man. People don't even work for WWE. We're shaking their hand.

And if you're backstage at WWE, there's all these signs like where I go. And there was a sign that male talent. Oh, I guess this is where we go. That's not where we go. So we go in. I remember like hardcore Holly beta there. Like they're giving us like the desk stare. Like this isn't good.

And John Morrison, Johnny Nitro, he had just debuted. He pulled us aside. He's like, there's a locker room for guys like you over there. The extra's locker room. The extra talent locker room. So we went. Extra talent locker room. There's another funny story.

There's a couple funny stories from that day. So we're in the extra talent locker room and it was a cross from the seamstress. So we're just. in there, me and Brian, and Trish Stratus comes in. It's like, hey, do you guys mind if I try this on? We're like, yeah, go ahead, Trish. It's like, well, can you leave? So that was that.

And then also, my dad was a New York cop at the time, flashed his badge to get backstage. I'm like, you can't be here, dad. And he ended up getting a ticket and they let him watch the show. It was fine. But yeah, I wrestled Matt Morgan, a squash match. I was so nervous. And I think he might have been more nervous than I was

because it was his debut as his stuttering gimmick. Yeah. So we were both equally nervous. I remember I'll never forget, he starts to mess up. He just shoving me down. And we were practicing it backstage. Like, and I was just taking balls on the concrete floor. The way he pushes you into the turn buckle, like it's a, oh yeah, he got big.

Yeah. Yeah. And like, I think your head bounces off the turnbuckle. It was a wild experience. But like, I thought at that time, oh, my God. God, like, if it ends today, I made it. I wrestle for WWE in Madison Square Garden. And you're less than a year into your wrestling career at this point, right?

Yeah, because I start training in September of 2003. My first match is like March or April 2004. Yeah. And then this match is, I'll look it up here real quick. I think it's April 2005? Yeah, it's April 18th, 2005. Yeah. One minute and 16 seconds.

Oh, boy. I was at him. Did he walk you through that finisher? Oh, yeah. We had to go through that a couple times. Yep. I mean, it's a big finisher from a big dude. Matt Morgan, he was a great dude.

It was a great experience. And we still keep in touch to this day. Did you think that that was going to lead to more at that time? I was so young and naive that I just, I didn't know like how the business really worked. Obviously, I was a huge fan. But I didn't know the inner workings. And then we get that, that tryout less than a year after that. And then once we get into the WW system, like everything happened so fast.

It was truly sink or swim. We get to Deep South Wrestling May 2007, and then we debut on TV. I'm sorry, we get to Deep South May 2006. We debut May 2007. So like, and then once we're there, we're like, we're off to the races. Man, what do you think the biggest thing you learned from Edge was?

Man, just how to carry yourself like a star, you know? Yeah. Because he just always looks so cool. You know what I'm saying? He's always, like, dressed up nice. You'd ever see him like looking like a slub, you know, and obviously he's one of the best ever, but he carries himself like he's a superstar, the rate of our superstuck. And you're early into your WWE career and you're accompanying him to WrestleMania.

Yeah, because like we're the major brothers before that and it sucked. It was not going great because our idea was like that we'd be these over the top baby faces so much so that we'd be heels. But they called us up as that as baby faces. And in 2007, that wasn't going to fly, you know, and we'd be. were just sitting in catering, doing nothing. And we were also in OVW at the same time. So we did both, right?

We had a pretty full schedule. I'll never forget, we had a smackdown on Tuesday. And the next day, Wednesday, all the writers were going to be at OVW. And we asked Michael Hayes on Tuesday, what should we show you tomorrow? Like, we're already here. It's like, show me something different. Like, okay. And that show, Entourage was really big on HBO.

And me and Brian, we love that show. We loved Edge. What if we're Edge's entourage? We're like, he's the Vinnie Chase and we're like two turtles essentially. And we're like taking his coffee orders and, you know, all stuff like that. And we showed up to OVW, dress his Edge, and we cut this skit where we're taking Edge's coffee order. And they loved it like, okay, but now you've got to get Edge to love it.

And we didn't know Edge at the time because he was out with an injury. I think Brian got his email and sent him to pitch. And he didn't need to go for it, but he did. And then fast forward a few months from there. and now you're part of WrestleMania. We went from sitting and catering one week to the next week we're wrestling Batista, Undertaker, the Rambley for Sean Michaels, Rick Flair,

and we had this front row seat, you know, like, because we're out there accompanying edge as well. Yeah. So it was unbelievable. The first ever, All Electric, 2026 Subaru Trail Seeker is the EV for the Trail Obsessed

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The five-year anniversary of your death match. Oh boy. Nick Gage just passed. Yeah. How do you feel five years removed from it? So on my YouTube channel, I put a little documentary out about the five years and what that means to me. That match changed my career, changed my life. If it wasn't for that match, I truly believe I would not be back in WW. It changed everything. It's interesting because nobody else would think that Nick Gage is the gatekeeper. Right. That would change all these things in your life. So what is it about Nick Gage? What is it about G.CW? And what is it about that specific match? It was a perfect storm. You know, Nick Gage had just the dark side of the ring had just aired.

What a match. Zach Ryder from WWE against Nick Cage, this death match guy, Matt Cardona. So I was on the Indies now. So I get released April 2020. We're in the beginning of the pandemic. There's nowhere to go, right?

There are no Indies. And if there are, it's like outside social distancing with mass. I'm like, I don't want to do that. So when the Indies finally opened back up, I'm like, okay,

but who is Matt Cardona? Just Zach Ryder with a different name. Like, that sucks, right? And I knew I needed a change. I just didn't know what it was. Is that your first match? It's not my first match. No, but it's,

that's the match I believe put Matt Cardona on the map. I believe I put GCW on the map, but I also believe they put Matt Cardona on the map. And it just, I knew that match would create buzz. I did not anticipate the amount of buzz it would create. Like on social media, that's how important social media is.

Like, It was an independent wrestling show in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But because of social media and streaming, it trended number one over the Olympics, UFC pay-per-view, like me versus Nick Gage. And I think that this speaks to the power of social media. Every wrestling fan is aware of this match. Whether they've watched the full match or not is a completely other story, but they're aware of this match.

They've seen the iconic photos or the clips from it. And I think that that really speaks to like, do whatever you can with this content to like make content out of it. And then I ran with it. I called myself the death match king. I would wear a crown and a robe and a cape. Like so much so to this day, people come up to me,

oh, I loved all your death matches. I've had one. And I think that that's an important thing to point out. When you return to WWE. Yeah. On commentary, they're talking about how he went and reinventing himself with all the death matches.

Really? I hate this. phrase, but it's true. Perception is reality. Oh, that's absolutely true. Yeah. And you've been the master it like marketing things. Like you, you come up with a moniker. Yep. And it sticks. But this is all things I learned through WWE, whether the time when I was there or there, you know, as a fan for the first 18 years of my life. It's all stuff I learned from WWE. So how are you applying that now? You learned so much in those five-ish years on the Indies. How are you applying that to this run? So it's a little difficult because, like we said earlier, there's only so much I can control.

So like if I have a T-shirt idea, that doesn't mean it can happen. Yeah. We're on the Indies. I would just have a design, put on ProSling Ts. Sure. You know? So it's been a little, I don't want to say frustrating, but it's like I was so used to controlling everything.

Yeah. So it's hard not to. Yeah. Yeah. I always wanted to ask you by these photos of you as a kid. Okay. You met everybody. I have some good photos.

Yeah. Yeah. Everybody. You're backstage at all of these WWF shows. Yeah. So my dad owned a gym when I was a kid. And he is a judge at the first ever WBF competition. The one that Vince owned.

Yeah. So he was a judge there. And he came back. He told me, oh, I met macho man in the ultimate world. I'm like, yeah,

sure you did that. And like, the macho man called me on the phone with him. Like, okay, I'm sure that's the macho man. Because also around the same time, I had a birthday party and Sting came.

And it wasn't stick. It wasn't. It was my dad's friend Kennedy from the gym. you know, look great, but it's not staying. I'm like, okay, I'm sure you're friends with the macho man. But sure enough, a couple months later, they were in town for a show. He's like, yeah, we're going to pick up the macho man from the airport. And we did.

What? Yeah, we picked him up, went backstage. How old were you? Man, this is like 90, 91. So maybe I'm 5, 6, 7, something like that. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

So there's a ton of great photos, but there's one of you and mankind, British Bulldog and Owen Hart. This is a couple years later where my dad would just, like, try to, like, find security guards and kind of like schmooze is waiting to get in this back. No way. Different era, but yeah. So what's the story behind the famous photo of you in Razor Ramon? So that is actually at the merch stand.

They were selling, like, the wrestler was there. And you could buy a little photo with them. It was like a little like Polaroid thing that they put on display stand. And it was Razor Ramon and it was me and my two brothers. And he was the IC champ at the time. And we took a photo and he let me hold his title. I thought nothing of it. You know, I was at WrestleMania 10.

I saw him win the IC title match and a ladder match. And then, like, you talk about, like, I have goosebumps right now talking about, like, like, wrestling, like, what it does, like, how it makes people, like, feel and believe, like, all those years later, I win a ladder match at WrestleMania for the IC title. Scott Hall's backstage, the first thing I did was run to him. You know, I told the story a million times probably the last time I was on the show. We'll tell it again, get some clicks. And we took that same photo, but this time he's holding my inner copy.

All title. And that was no storyline. Like, no writers wrote that. That was real life, fault, fate, whatever you want to call it. Like, that happened. And it's like, man, it depends what day you asked me. Like, what's the greatest night of my career? It's either that WrestleMania match or the Nick Gage match.

Really? Yeah. Wow. They're so tied. I really, like, depends which day you asked me. Did you know when you won that Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania that it was only going to be for one night? I did.

Yes. You knew you were going to lose it the next night? I knew. And it didn't bother me. because to this day, people are like, oh, you should have held it long? I'm like, why? If I held it for a month and lost to Zazaar,

backlash, like, who cares? Yeah, it wouldn't have been memorable, right? But I lose it the next night. And it's the perfect way, you know, Zach Ryder would win the title, losing the next night. You know, that's the story of Zach Ryder. This is a story of Matt Cardona.

You work so hard, you get some, gets taken away, damn. Then you somehow get it back where you get better than ever. That sounds a lot like stories that Dolph Ziegler would tell. Like that it's the story of the Dolph Ziegler slash Nick Nemith character.

Like, he's so close and then it doesn't happen. Yes. Why do you think that was for you guys? Like, I feel like you both fall into that category in the mid-2010s of underrated slash underappreciated. Man, I don't know. I just, you know, at the end of the day, we got to realize this is a television program.

Right? So not everyone could be the star of the show. They're supporting characters, characters come and go. And, you know, we weren't written to be the top, top characters. And that's fine. But we didn't, we didn't like just settle. Even now, look at him right now, TNA champion.

Yeah. Right? Like on top of his game. Yes. So I'm very proud of him, very happy for him. And like, man, we had a lot of fun on the Indies working together. We'd go every, we'd wrestle everywhere together, Qatar, Australia, you know, anywhere, Daytona Beach, Florida, L.A., wherever, we did it.

You had a moment right after you returned to WWE with Cody Rose backstage. What was that moment? with you and Cody supposed to be. Was it just like, we know you guys are friends in real life. Let's just put you guys on camera together. I think that's all it was. Yeah, it was a great week two for me.

I get to be with the WWE champion saying I want that title. Like a great follow up to the debut from the week prior. So that's still the main goal. You want to be WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. 100%. I mean, I believe if that's not your goal, then what are you doing this business? But not everyone feels the same way.

And that's fine. That's just how I feel. Has that been the goal since, like, how old were you when you wanted to be WW? Man, my earliest memories involved pro wrestling. I can't tell you the first match I watched. I can't tell you the first action figure I had. Just every memory I have as a child is around pro wrestling. So it was a dream of mine that just, even now, like, I'm a big kid who never grew up.

That's why I have a podcast talking about wrestling toys or having my own wrestling toy company, you know. What would you say is the total value of your wrestling toy collection? Oh, man. If I say a number, you can say over or under? 500,000. Oh, over. 100%. Yeah.

750,000. No, over a million. Over a million? Yeah. Two million? What's it insured for? Oh, well, I'm not going to disclose that. Okay.

But yeah, listen, and there's a lot of things I have. Over two million? Over three million. I would say that in that ballpark. Wow. But here's the thing, right? Things are only worth what someone is willing to pay that moment.

Sure. Yeah. And there are a lot of things that I have. They're like top, top shelf, you know, top dollar things. And there's some things that I couldn't even give away. But those things. But they mean a lot to you. Right.

Are some of the most sentimental things to me. But there's some things like, I know you have a lot of prototypes. Yes. That's a very specific, like, niche collectible, right? Like, yeah. But even so, like, there was this, I just bought this recently. This is Ultimate Warrior Figure from the early 2000. of Jack's classic superstars.

There was only five of them made. And one of them got destroyed in a hurricane. So there's only four. So I purchased this. And part of the deal was that I would go to the collector's house, film like a little vlog. And I would give him a Money in the Bank briefcase full of money, full of money.

And I would be dressed in, like it was this whole like, yes, it was a skit, blah, blah, blah. But like, that was the real deal. And then I gave him the gear. You filmed this in your gear. And then you open up the money in the bank briefcase and it's Fillebroseki bus. You know, we're not going to disclose how much I paid for it. But you said it was five figures.

Yeah, it was five. Like that you counted on your fingers. Well, I had to make sure. Well, five figures could be $10,000 or it could be $99,000. I'm not going to disclose it. It was a lot of money. Is that the figure you've paid the most amount of money for? It is.

Yeah. And it was autographed too, right? It was autographed, yeah. Is there, like, wrestling collectibles are going for, crazy amounts of money right now. It's funny because, like, I'm glad they're finally getting their, the credit, you know, like, and they're getting the recognition. Did you see what that Hogan boot sold for?

I did. Over a million dollars. There's a Hogan, I think it's a WrestleMania 2 title that's going to sell for something like that too. Yes, I just saw, I think Fanatics Fest was doing something. Oh, are they doing something with it? They were, at least I got an email that's going to be there. I think from heritage auctions.

What do you think that'll go for? Over a million. It's photo match. Only Hogan held that version of the title. Yeah. I feel like it's like there's some crazy collectibles out there. 100%. So I got asked this question on my Friday show, the AskCTV show.

If you could hold, if you could own one collectible in the entire history of pro wrestling, what would it be? I'm not saying it needs to be one that's for sale, but like what if you could go into the WWE warehouse and be like, that one or wherever it would exist. Maybe, uh, maybe the intercontinental title that Razor, Amon won at Mania 10. Then he grabs two. So which one is it?

Ooh. Maybe both of them. Maybe both. Or that big orange ladder. Maybe. That's something like that. Because that match meant so much to you. It means so much because it was my favorite match then.

And then, you know, with the whole winning title at WrestleMania, you know, come a full circle thing. Yeah, that's, that's definitely the one. I'd want to own the winged eagle. And I don't know how many there were. I feel like there were a lot. Yeah? Yeah.

But if you think about like, maybe it's one that Brett held or maybe it's one that like didn't Austin wasn't the last person. The last one. Yep. Maybe it's that one. That's a cool one for sure. That's obviously never going to go for sale. You know what? I wish the intercontinental title that I won a WrestleMania, I wish I had that title.

Where's that one? You know, it's like I have a replica. And the replicas now are just as good. Sure. But I think like maybe that's the one. I probably should have lost that one. Well, what means more to you? Is it collecting the toys, the rare toys?

Or is it collecting the one-of-one, like, this is the gear that this person wore? So I'm not a big memorabilia collector. I appreciate it. Sure. You know, I respect it. It's just not something I collect. I'm more so the action. Chelsea Green was a guest on my live show last year.

She told the story of you. leaving a tanning imprint in the bed. I don't see what the big deal is. Like, it comes out in the wash. It must be something, you know, when the housekeeper goes in there. What happened in here? It does look like a murder scene.

Yeah, it looks like one of those like crime scene. I guess I'm using, I've been doing this for almost 15 years. You know, whether it be at my house or on the road, like I don't think it's a big deal. Do all your sheets look like this at home? But I wash them. It comes out.

It's not stained. So what's the tanning routine? Currently, I'm used, I shouldn't even be plugging this company. They're not paying me. Maybe they will now. Yeah. I get off Amazon. I'm not sure where else you get it, but Loving Tan.

Okay. That's what I use. Why that specific company? I don't know. Does it not rub off or something? It rubs off, but it gets this what I, so I'll do it. Like, for instance, Thursday night before Smackdown, I'll do it. It's like a rub on.

Chelsea will do my back. You use a mitt. You're like, yep, yeah, I'll do it. And then like the next morning, I'll work out and then I'll shower. coat off. So I'll let it sit in all night. I'll work out with it. Then I'll shower a coat off. And before I wrestle, I take something called niacin, which it like flushes the blood to your system. So if you're, if you're like really, really white and pale, you'll look red. But if you're tan, you look even tanner. What about the hot stuff? Is that a, I'm not a hot stuff guy,

but that will help as well. Chelsea said you're tanorexic. Chelsea thinks that. We have a lot of debates about this around the house because what she doesn't understand is like, I'm not doing this to go like on a date. I'm not taking it to Ruth Chris this tan. I'm going to wrestle. You know what I mean? But I think she thinks like you're already tanned enough and you're going, I need to get more tan.

The wrestlers I grew up idolizing were jacked and tan. But they were baking themselves in like the actual tanning bed. And I'm doing it more healthy. So what's the problem? Yeah, you're doing a much better version of it now. Yeah. They would like go into the tanning bed. Yeah.

So like on the Indies, it was a different formula. So this was on the Indies. Let's say I flew out a Friday morning. Thursday night, I would go to my local tanning salon. I lay in the bed and get two sprays. Then I'd lay in my own bed. Then I'd fly to whatever town, go to the gym. You'd have to like wear nice clothes to the indie show.

I wouldn't even shower. And then I'd go wrestle the match. I'd be so dark. I'd have such a great tan Friday night. And then I'd take a shower. Did you see that tan that Paul Heyman had had for like a week or two? Look great. We're talking about the dark one?

Yes, of course. That's the one we're talking about. Yeah, okay. It looked great. I feel like him and Bronner may have gone a little. I think Bron has a great tan. Ron does have a great tan. He's certainly dialed it back a little bit.

I wish he would bring it back up. I think Paul Heyman being that tan, I mean, he had a fascinating story. Yes, I heard that, right. That's crazy. Yeah, wild. For anybody who didn't hear it, he was in the hospital. Shows his dedication. Leading up to those raws was getting a private plane, leaving with a pick line,

and then going to do raw and then going back to the hospital wants it he loves the business crazy yeah but i think the tan kind of covered up how pale he actually was they looked great he fooled us so you maybe you should talk to mr haman and figure out what what tanner he was using and you can look like that's true but that's that goes back though to what you were talking about with there's only a few things you can control that's right and one of them is just the way you look right no one's gonna say oh you can't have good gear you can't look like a star right and no one's gonna say oh you're working out too hard. You look too good. Like, what? Those things I can control and my attitude. Yeah. Right. And I tried to do whatever I can control to the best of my abilities.

So if there's a WWE fan who just started watching over the last few years and they're only familiar with Matt Cardona, January 2026 to now, what WWE match do they need to go back of, of Zach riders to watch that you're really proud of? Of course, you know, the I see title match comes to mind, but I would go back even further. TLC 2011 against Dahlv Ziegler, the U.S. title. Because that year, I start the year as an absolute nobody. You know, January 1st, nobody. I mean, I'm on TV.

Like, I'm on middle of the ring, no entrance, outcomes, whoever, I lose, whatever. So I start Zee-Trolling Island story of my YouTube show. And throughout that year, because of the fans, I'm basically forced into a better position on television. and I end the year as the United States champion. Yeah. So it's that match with Ziegler. It's also something about, man, he makes everybody look great.

Well, I am great, so he didn't make me look great. Hear that? It's your money calling. It wants a promotion. Elevate your savings with the Scotia high-interest savings account. Always earn high regular interest rates that grow the more you save and invest. Conditions apply. Visit Scotiabank.com slash H-I.

ISA to learn more. Scotia Bank. You're richer than you think. Jim Rome takes on sports. I will always have a complicated relationship with this game. But people evolve. So do sports. Do not make me regret this.

Do not make me devolve. Back to that guy that so many clones wish that I still was. And do not embarrass the entire country. Now, I can go back. I can get there fast. Lose tonight. And you got a real problem. Do not blow it.

Jim Rome show podcast. You've been warned. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Where do you go from here? That is a great question. I feel very blessed that I'm in the win-win situation where I feel like I'm the top of my game. You know, like I'm 40 years old, but 41 now.

But I feel better now and look better now. I wrestle better now at 41 than I did when I was 21, right? And you look at the landscape of WWE, the two current champions are. or my age or older, right? Then again, there's all these young up and comers. So I got to be on my toes to keep up with them. And hopefully this all works out. And, you know, we do an interview in a couple of years and I could talk about my

WWE title win, right? But if it doesn't, like, I found my place outside WWE. And I could always go back there, which is great, like a good backup plan. But I don't want a backup plan. Like, this is the plan to be the WWE champion. What have you done to dial in your nutrition and dialing your work? You look better than ever. I think it's just being consistent.

And it's funny because I was joking around with like Kit Wilson, who I can't believe I'm going to give him credit. But like he's somebody who I feel like if it was 2010, 2011, 2012 would have been riding with me, Ms. Morrison Ziegler, who would have been driving us. They don't carry our backs. But I see a lot of myself, my younger self in him. And I was saying to him yesterday, like, we were just sitting there and I were just, you know, shooting the show.

I'm like, you know what? I feel like I just get really out of shape. Because, like, I've just been too good for too long. Like, because I don't think anyone realizes that I'm in great shape because I've always been a good shape. I think I should get really fat, really out of shape, and then, like, do a transformation. But if someone looks... That is ridiculous.

If someone looks at the edgehead photo of you. Yeah. And then looks at you now, like, total huge difference. Right. Like, that was 20 years ago. Right. So it's like, it's been a gradual improvement. Did you start working with a trainer or a coach?

I work with different trainers and coaches, but I think. it's just like learning your body trial and error. You know, there were times like on the road, like I thought I was eating healthy. Like I'd be at subway getting a salad with like that grilled chicken. Like that's not healthy. And like I need carbs. I was eating like no carbs. Right. You know. So you got to you got to learn your how your body reacts to certain foods. So what's eating healthy it look like for you now? Man. So like I could tell you this morning, I had a cup of egg whites. And this is crazy because for full context here, you woke up in Oklahoma City. I did because Smackdown was last night. That's right.

And I made sure I went home, had my breakfast, which was eight egg whites, two whole eggs, cream of rice and blueberries. And then I had another meal before I came here, which was eight ounces of lean ground beef, a cup of rice. Then after this, I'll go find something like a Chipotle maybe, but very, very clean and healthy, like maybe the steak and rice, no extra BS. And I'll work out. I'll have a protein shake with some oats, maybe a banana.

And then at night I'll probably have like eight ounces, something. or ground beef, maybe ground turkey with no carbs. So is that five meals? Five is-ish? Five-ish. And that's the same when you're on the road? It's a little different on the road, you know, because like... Are you bringing meals?

I've tried that before. It doesn't work for me. You know, I know, like, first watch, outback, some healthy things, you know? So is it ordering food in? Like, let's say it's WrestleMania week. You know, you're going to be home for, or you're not going to be home for the week. So, like, at a rest of a week, I'll find, like, a meal prep service. Okay.

And, like, I'll buy, like, a fridge at Target, get it sent to my room. because usually at the fridge, you'll get a hotel. It's not big enough for a week's worth of meals plus with me and Chelsea. You know what I'm saying? What if you're on the European tour? On European tours, I tell people all time, whenever you can eat, eat as much as you can. What do you mean? Because you never know when your next meal is going to be.

Oh, interesting. Yeah. A lot of those meals, are they catered? Is that? It really depends, right? It really depends. Sometimes, like, after a show, I don't know how it is, you know, with these long European tours now. But back in the day, they'd be given us like McDonald's and pizza after the show.

like KFC. Yeah. Like, not the healthiest stuff, but for me, I needed those calories because you never know how many times you're eating that day. Do you have an ultimate cheat meal? Uh, I'm a big, like chicken parm and pasta guy, but also said like a guy from long island. Yeah. Which I just went to Italy with Chelsea.

Believe or not, chicken parm is not a true traditional Italian dish. You posted something about that. I didn't know. Well, now you know. But like, if I. If I want to have something, I'll have it and then just kind of adjust my diet, my workouts accordingly. Like, I don't have like a cheat day, you know? So, but if you want to have a cookie, you want to have dessert at the steakhouse.

I'll do it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, because I also say this, like, I never want to look too good. What do you mean? I never want to like some people and I respect it. They like dial in for WrestleMania. Yeah.

Well, then what? You know what I'm saying? I want to look good all year. Yeah. I never want to look great and then, oh, I just look as great. I think the thing I always come back to is if you're eating six meals a day, that's 42 meals a week. If three of those meals aren't perfect,

39 of them were. Yeah, I think it's all about balance. And I want to enjoy my life and stuff too. Like, I want to go out with my wife and have a nice steak dinner, a couple bottles of wine and stuff like that. Yeah. I don't think I've ever asked you this before. Do you have an all-time favorite match?

Not of yours, just in general as a fan? I think it's WrestleMania 10, Shaw Michaels was Razormone. I was there for it. It was the first ladder match in Iversaw. Sean Michaels was like, he was the first heel, bad guy I liked. And I didn't know why. It's not until years later, you realize because he was so good in the ring, made everyone look good.

But like, as a kid, you don't know. Why don't I like this guy? It's weird. Like, why do I like this guy? Like, you sing his own song and he's at these hearts on his side. Like, why do I like this guy? But I was obsessed. Like, I had the zebra had, the heart shaped sunglasses.

I had all that stuff. And then Razor was just so cool, so manly. And like, he was just like, he was oozing machismo, right? And my two favorites, clashing. for my favorite title, and there's two of them hanging and, like, you're climbing a ladder and beating your opponent up with a ladder. Like, what is this? Like, now, you know, I'm not saying that we're, you know,

we're used to a ladder match, but how many have we seen? We've seen a lot. At the time, that was the first one I ever saw. Yeah. So it changed my life for sure. And that match changed a lot of wrestling, too. 100% did. Yeah.

So now that you're in WWE as the veteran, you've got a lot of younger talent in the locker room. What's the advice or is, their go-to advice that you tell the younger talent. It's funny because I was just talking to Javon about this. He was asking me about like to bring up the edge Undertaker Russellmania. I'm actually if I was nervous. I couldn't be nervous because it was so sink or swim, right?

And it got me on like this whole tangent of like, you know, I'm like, it's so weird like I'm talking to this, this, I'm going to call him a kid. First of all, that's weird to me. Then I'm going to give them this advice like this grizzle a little vet. But I was like, you know, this business is going to, it's going to, you know, chew you up and spit you out, which is fine. You got to be ready for it. But if you ever get a chance to buy it into the business,

buy it in, baby, and sick it and don't let it go. You know, because there's going to be all these moments. There's going to be highs and lows. And you've got to love this business, not just when you're on top. You got to love it when you're at rock bottom two because it makes everything so much sweeter when you get something. Yeah. I love that.

Yeah. Thank you for making this happen. That went fast. It did. That was an hour. Oh, wow. Congratulations. I appreciate you.

Matt Cardona, WWU's superstar. Yeah. Yeah. So maybe your answers are different this time around. Yeah, let's see. What are you grateful for today? We're doing the three. Sure. You can give me as many as you'd like.

You know, we're very similar. I wake up every day. I do five. But they are the same and I'll say them again. Like Chelsea for sure, you know, for so many reasons. One, you know, she's my best friend and like we just have the best time together. But also like when I feel back to curtain, I think about it, like, I used to have posters of divas on my bedroom wall.

Now I'm married to and I can just see her naked every day. Like, is that not living the life, bro? Like, are you kidding? Like, I had all these posters. It's true. Right? And now, like, I'm sleeping next one. I don't need the post.

Yeah. I'm saying, it's pretty great. It's the truth. We made that a clip last time. And I was like, did it last time? Yeah. And I said, I wonder if Chelsea will collaborate on this.

Oh, well. And she did. It's the truth, right? Like, it's great. grateful for my man loves his wife that's right i do too uh i love my wife yeah i love my wife i also love chelsea green very grateful for my uh my family uh all very very supportive always have been um they come down they i got to see them all the past mother so my parents came both my brothers came separately living in orlando people want to come visit sure i like warm weather all year

warm weather all year uh the the theme parks that's perfect grateful for my My dogs, my cats, I got three cats, three dogs. Like, right now, like, until we actually have actual human being children, like these are our kids. What are all their names? Oh, my God. We got, put me on the spot here. There's always.

Give us all six. We got Kylo. We got Draco, Waffles. Those are the cats. Dude, Walt, and Paisley. Those are the three dogs. That is correct. That is correct.

It is. Grateful for pro wrestling. You know, like, I've loved this business my entire life. My only real job. job has been being a pro wrestler. I worked at a deli pizza delivery man, boy, and gold's gym, personal trade with no clients, and then a pro wrestler. So I'm very grateful for that. And, you know, also wrestling has given me everything. It's giving me like the house that I just built, my wife, all through pro wrestling, some of my best friends through wrestling. What's the best tip

you ever got as a pizza delivery guy? And what's the worst tip you ever got? Oh, my God. None of them were good. Not of them were good. You never had someone be like, here's a hundred. Oh, God, no, I wish. I have no great stories as a piece. I hated it. Once I got signed to V.E., I just quit. I just said, I'm done. I'm quitting.

Sorry, I got to go wrestle at WWE. Grateful for, that's four, I believe. And then the fifth one would be, I'm grateful for my major wrestling for a podcast and my toy company, CollectMager, CollectMager.com. It's like, I grew up playing with these action figures. And that really drove my fandom of pro wrestling to this. next level because back in the day, you know, this, Chris, like, it wasn't on every day of the week. Like, it is now.

It wasn't streaming, right? Like, you watched on the weekends and maybe went to Blockbuster and got the VHS. And when it was on, it was on. That was it. Yeah. That was it. And like, this is like, you couldn't stream it. I'm talking pre-Money Night Raw.

You know what I'm saying? Um, but these figures, you got to, to continue those storylines with your toys or, or make your own. And that's what I really love is like having my figure federations and then later getting the internet and being able to download their music and then I can keep the title history on my computer. I loved all that stuff. And the fact that now we get to make those toys and talk about them and I get, you know, I get paid to talk about them. I get paid to make them. But even if I didn't, I would do it for free. Like, I just, I just love that stuff. You talking about Chelsea reminded me

of this. Okay. When you were in London, you tried a Chelsea bun. I did. It wasn't the bun I was hoping for. It was, it's like a pastry. It's a pastry. It's a I didn't, listen, I ate it. You made a lot of jokes about it too. What do you want me to say? I mean, that's what they wanted, right? It's a layup. It was a layup.

And I gave them what they wanted. I gave them what they wanted, you know? Jesus. Sorry, Chels. It's a great cliff. Thanks again, man. Thank you. Thank you.

Appreciate you. Hey y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust.

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