Matt Cardona (Formerly Zack Ryder) Makes AEW Debut

Zack Ryder has arrived

Zack Ryder (well, Matt Cardona) is all elite. The former WWE wrestler made his AEW debut on this week’s episode of Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT.

Cody Rhodes successfully retained the TNT Championship over Warhorse. After the match, two members of The Dark Order ran out and attacked Rhodes and Warhorse. Arn Anderson got into the ring and was ready to throw down. 

This is when Ryder walked out to the ring, looking jacked, and made the save. He hit his finisher to both guys to clear the ring. He hugged it out with Rhodes to end the segment.

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Cody and Matt Cardona (AEW Dynamite, 7/29/20)

Fans won’t have to wait long to see Matt Cardona’s in-ring debut. It was announced that next week on Dynamite, Cody and Cardona will team up against the Dark Order in tag team action.

You can see footage of Matt Cardona’ AEW Dynamite debut here:

Zack Ryder’s Road to AEW

Ryder, real name Matt Cardona, was released by WWE due to budget cuts related to the coronavirus back in April. Just like all of the other wrestlers who were released by the company, he had to wait until July 15th until he could sign with another promotion. Ryder was a longtime wrestler for the company. 

Leading up this debut, there had been speculation that he might be headed to AEW due to his friendship with Rhodes. That answer has been made. Now, it will be interesting to see where this leads him. 

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Andrew Ravens
Andrew Ravens is a pro wrestling beat writer covering news and events for some of the biggest wrestling sites in the world. After growing up as a WWE fan, Andrew became a full-time writer in 2013. Andrew can be contacted at [email protected] for news tips, results, interviews, general news, and corrections.
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