Matthew Cardona
Biography
Matthew Brett Cardona is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is the current Impact Digital Media Champion in his first reign, and The National Wrestling Alliance, where he is the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He also holds several championships in various independent promotions, and his self-promoted Internet Championship, with which he is in his second reign. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Zack Ryder from 2005 to 2020. Cardona debuted in professional wrestling in 2004, teaming with Curt Hawkins on the independent circuit. Both men were signed by WWE the following year, making their main roster debuts in 2007. After the team split in 2009, he made appearances on WWE's ECW brand until 2010, following which he was featured sparingly on television. In 2011, he launched a YouTube web series in which he proclaimed himself WWE's "Internet Champion"; this, along with his creative use of social media, helped him establish a substantial cult following. Over the course of his time with WWE, Cardona held the Intercontinental, United States, and Raw Tag Team Championships (the latter with Hawkins on two occasions). Cardona was released by WWE in April 2020, and had a brief stint in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in July of that year under his real name. Cardona has been a free agent since the completion of his AEW contract in September and has been making appearances with Impact Wrestling since making his debut at their Hard To Kill event in January 2021.
