Matt Cardona Says AEW Showed WWE How To Present Pro Wrestling In COVID-19 Era
Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman recently sat down with Matt Cardona on The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast. During their discussion the subject of how WWE and AEW have handled their shows during the COVID-19 pandemic was brought up. AEW have taken many COVID-19 safety measures that have received general praise, and Cardona said that AEW showed WWE how to run shows during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's great that WWE [pressed on], and AEW said, 'OK, we're going to press on too, but we're going to show you how to do it.' So if you watch, WWE goes ”oh, hard cam's here [and] they have people in the crowd,' so AEW was ahead of the curve," Cardona pointed out. "They knew how to do it, and they did it so well.
"So even like when I was wrestling, I didn't realize that I wasn't in this jam-packed arena because the way they have it set up and the fans around the ring, the wrestlers around the ring and everyone's so vocal, and everyone wants the show to be great. From people in the back to people the ring want the show to be great. It's such a great environment."
During the recording of the interview, there were reports of Renee Young leaving WWE. Young has confirmed her WWE departure, and Cardona commented on Young's post-WWE future.
"Renee is great, super professional, super funny [and] super talented," Cardona said. "So wherever she ends up, I know she's doing a cookbook, so maybe she'll be having a cooking show. I don't know, but whatever she does, I'm sure she'll kill it because she's one of the best"
Cardona also discussed his appearance at Dolph Ziggler's comedy show post-SummerSlam 2019. He talked about how fun the show was and revealed that there was supposed to be a combined show with Ziggler, himself and Brian Myers with The Major Wrestling Figures podcast. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has halted those plans, but Cardona said they hope to get something done safely in the next couple of months.
"It was the the finale to Dolph Ziggler's comedy show. Brian Myers and I, we came on stage," Cardona recalled. "I believe there was some super kicks thrown. Pat Patterson came to save the day. Then we were singing. It was a wild night. Anything can happen at those DZ comedy shows as well as The Major Wrestling Figures podcast live shows, so one of these days we're going to do a combined show. We were supposed to do it this August, but because of the pandemic, we couldn't even announce it. But we had one planned.
"That's why Dolph Ziggler spray painted all over my Major Wrestling Figures Podcast Championship. We never got to pay off the angle, and now I'm stuck with a spray painted title. We'll definitely be able to do it. We're doing our own thing, but we just need the world to open up to do the show. That's the issue. Where can we do the show with people in a safe way. So hopefully in the next couple of months."
Matt Cardona can be seen Wednesday night's on TNT as part of AEW Dynamite. You can follow him on Twitter @TheMattCardona. Cardona's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.