Matt Cardona On If WWE Management Resented Him Over His Online Popularity

The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast welcomed Matt Cardona recently where he and Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman discussed Cardona's Z! True Island Story and whether it inspired other internet shows like Being The Elite. Cardona praised BTE especially since it went beyond his show and spawned an actual promotion in AEW.

"I think the show is great. It's taken off," Cardona pointed out. "I was not the first person to have a website show. There was definitely other people who had one. I think I was the first person to do it on my own and mix my real-life personality with my wrestling personality and prove social media can work to advance your career.

"Even if the company doesn't want to or doesn't see you certain way, you can kind of force them, and that's what I did. So I love that all these other people are doing it and to the extreme. BTE is way bigger than Z! True Long Island Story ever was. Being The Elite, we now have All Elite Wrestling. So it's crazy what BTE has done and continues to do."

Hausman joked that perhaps The Major Wrestling Figures podcast could one day spawn it's own promotion. Cardona laughed it off and said that he and co-host Brian Myers will just focus on their Figure Wrestling Federation.

"I don't know," Cardona laughingly said. "The only promoting I'm doing is on the Figure Wrestling Federation every Wednesday, the spin-off to The Major Wrestling Figures podcast. Listen to me and Brian Myers rebooking the Attitude Era with figures."

Cardona was on Talk Is Jericho a month after his WWE release with Brian Myers where Jericho had brought up how Vince McMahon can be resentful of talent for getting over without him playing a hand in it. Cardona was asked whether there was resentment over himself getting himself over, but he said there is no clear way to tell and that he chooses not to focus to much on litigating the past.

"Here's the thing, who knows, right? People speculated at times, even I speculated, but there's no proof of that," Cardona noted. "At the end of the day, I was given an opportunity. I was put on TV because for the longest time, I was doing the YouTube show, selling all this merch without getting the opportunity, and then I was given the opportunity. So I was on TV. I got what I asked for.

"I won the U.S. Title, and then things didn't exactly go my way. You know what, I could have knocked on somebody's door and asked, 'hey what's going on here?' But I didn't do that. So I blame me. I don't blame anyone else for what happened in 2012. I don't live in the past and say what if. I try not to be bitter because what's that going to do? It's not going to change anything. You're not going to be happier.

"I think everyone's guilty of doing the bitter tweet, the angry tweet every once in a while. Of course, I am, but at the end of the day, what's the point right? It's not gonna get anything done. It's not gonna change anything, and you're not going to be happy. So who cares?"

Also soon after his WWE release, Cardona teased the return of the Internet Championship. Cardona said he keeps it around just in case he ever needs to use.

"That's the new guy. I'm always ready," Cardona stated. "So when it was time to get a Pro Wrestling Tees store [and] start setting everything up for the future, well, I need a new Internet Title just in case. That's really all it is. It's just in case. Always ready. I already got some merch with it, some shirts we're working on it of it [and] all toys of it. So if I ever defend it, who knows, but I have it just in case."

Before joining WWE, Cardona wrestled with New York Wrestling Connection where he teamed with Myers. Cardona said his indie experience was short and wasn't the true indie experience that he hopes to have in the future.

"Yeah, I did a handful of indies from 2004 to 2006 like once a month, maybe twice a month. I think my highest payday was like 15 bucks, so I was on the indies, but I wasn't really on the indies," Cardona noted. "So I am very excited to get out there now, and I've never got to do that. I never got to have the gimmick table and meet people at intermission. So I'm excited about all that stuff."

While Cardona talked about his excitement on wrestling in the indies, he said he is not currently taking independent bookings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes that it is not safe right now to be running independent shows.

"100%, and maybe that's where I defend this Internet Title put on my YouTube channel or something, but right now with the current state of the world in this business, I'm not taking any independent bookings right now," Cardona revealed. "I think that's understandable because I don't want a show to get cancelled, and I don't want the fans to be excited to see me for the first time and then get cancelled. And right now, I just don't think it's safe to be doing these independent shows right now."

While talking about the different flavors that wrestling can bring, Cardona was asked if he would be interested in death match wrestling. Cardona said he was open to it as he is writing a new book for his career and hopes to try everything at least once.

"You know what, I mean, this is my time to, like I said, to write this new book, so I would love to try everything," Cardona admitted. "Why not? Try everything once, maybe more than once. Maybe I'll really love it. So I'm not against that at all. I'm not saying no to anything."

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.