Matt Cardona On Having No Grand Plan For Indie Journey After WWE

While Matt Cardona has had a monumental run after molding himself into the "Indy God," he admits that his success didn't stem from a master plan.

During a recent appearance on "Strictly Business," the former GCW World Champion discussed his wrestling journey following his release from WWE in April 2020. Upon Cardona's release, much of the independent circuit was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, Cardona was able to lean on his and Brian Myers' "Major Wrestling Figure Podcast" for some financial support before having "a little cup of coffee in AEW" and eventually securing a lengthier stint in Impact Wrestling.

"Once the indies started opening up [though], I was addicted to the hustle, making the towns, selling the merch," Cardona said. "I'm a big merch guy. That's what I do, right? So setting up the merch table before [the show] — at the end of the night, 'Yeah, okay. If I had a great match, sure,' but I love counting that cash out of my fanny pack at the end of the night. I'm addicted to that. And then it just snowballed into different ideas. 'What other merch could I make? What other promotions could I go and do? How can I make myself different?'"

Through Cardona's work outside of WWE, he also adopted a new catchphrase — "Alwayz Ready" — which acts as a reflection of Cardona's active mindset. "It's more than just a hashtag or a gimmick. It's how I've lived my life, lived my career. I have to be ready for any opportunity presented. And listen, they're not all going to be home runs. Sometimes I'm going to strike out, but that's how you grow. That's how you learn," he said.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Strictly Business" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.