Former WWE Superstar named Indie Wrestler of the Year
Former WWE Superstars often return to the indies after leaving the biggest sports entertainment company in the world, and one such star has found major success on the independent scene.
Matt Cardona spent 15 years with the Stamford-based company before his release in April 2020 due to COVID-19 budget cuts. The former Zack Ryder has worked for several companies since then, such as AEW, TNA, MLW, GCW, and the NWA. In many ways, Cardona has found more success and acclaim on the independent scene than he ever did in WWE.
The self-proclaimed King of the Indies has been named Indie Wrestler of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine. This is his second straight year winning the award, as he also received the honor in 2022.
Cardona took to Instagram today to publicly react to the award. As is his style, the multi-time champion praised himself for how resilient he is and declared that he will never quit.
"@officialpwi Indie Wrestler of Year for the second year in a row! An ex-WWE wrestler isn’t supposed to win Indie Wrestler of the Year…especially twice. Nobody in the history of this business has been truly counted out and has come back more times than me. It’s not over til I quit…and I’ll NEVER quit. Nobody can stop me. Nobody can kill me…I’m already dead. #StillHere #AlwayzReady #IndyGod," he wrote.
The former Major Brother is the current WSW World Heavyweight Champion. In recent months, he has dropped the Premier Men's Championship, the HOG Heavyweight Championship, and the DDT Universal Championship.
Former WWE Superstars to face off at independent show
Matt Cardona is the former Zack Ryder of WWE, and Nic Nemeth is the former Dolph Ziggler. The two had very similar careers in the sports entertainment juggernaut, and they were booked to team up or go against each other many times over the years.
After a recent war of words and challenges online, GCW has announced Cardona vs. Nemeth for its upcoming The Coldest Winter 2 event on Saturday, February 3, in Los Angeles.
This will be the first Cardona vs. Nemeth singles match since the Saturday Morning Slam tapings on January 15, 2013. The Show-Off won that match. The first-ever singles bout between the two came on the September 19, 2011 edition of RAW and was won by The Long Island Iced Z.
Would you like to see Zack Ryder return to WWE? Does Matt Cardona vs. Nic Nemeth on the indies interest you in 2024? Sound off in the comments below!