Matt Cardona is back for a second run in WWE after signing with the company earlier this year, and he’s making clear he sees a villainous version of himself in his future.
Speaking on the Insight podcast, the former Intercontinental Champion said a heel turn is something he’s certain of, not just open to.
He explained that the character fans currently see on WWE television isn’t the same one he built on the independent scene — a self-described “Ultimate Opportunist” persona with no redeeming qualities — and said that’s the version he believes WWE ultimately needs to bring out of him. He said:
Not maybe, definitely, because I’ve said, and I said it on TV too, like ‘I left and I reinvented myself, blah blah blah,’ but who you see right now is not who I was on the indies like the heel Ultimate Opportunist, no redeeming qualities, Matt Cardona. That’s what I feel WWE needs to see from me.
He added that he doesn’t yet know the exact path to get there, but that he’s ready and watching for the right moment to seize it.
I’m not exactly sure how we’re gonna get there but I’m always ready. And I’m in the game. So if the opportunity presents itself, I will capitalize.
His Eyes on the World Title
Cardona also touched on broader goals in the company. Asked about his future plans, the SmackDown star didn’t hedge: he wants to become WWE World Champion.
He framed himself as being in a genuine win-win spot at this stage of his career. Now 41, he said he feels and performs better than he did in his early 20s, and pointed out that both of WWE’s reigning champions are around his age or older, even as a wave of younger talent pushes him to keep sharp. He said:
I feel very blessed that I’m in the win-win situation, where I feel like I’m the top of my game. I’m 40 years old, 41 now, but I feel better now and look better now. I wrestle better now at 41 than I did when I was 21. You look at the landscape with WWE, the two current champions are my age or older, right?
His hope, he said, is to look back in a few years and be able to talk about winning a WWE title — but if that doesn’t happen, he’s built a strong enough independent career to fall back on. Still, he was firm that a backup plan isn’t the goal; becoming WWE Champion is. Cardona added:
But then again, there’s all these young up-and-comers, so I gotta be on my toes to keep up with them, and hopefully this all works out and we do an interview in a couple years, and I could talk about my WWE title win, right?
But if it doesn’t, I found my place outside WWE, and I could always go back there, which is great, a good backup plan. But I don’t want a backup plan. This is the plan to be the WWE Champion.
