Matt Cardona would be an interesting surprise at the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble

There are a lot of reasons to discuss controversy in professional wrestling. On Tuesday, an interesting opinion sparked a lot of “outrage” online. Matt Cardona had some interesting things to say to Ariel Helwani causing a lot of blowback online. But looking at what he said, he’s not actually wrong and raises some interesting questions.

The full interview between Helwani and Cardona is available online, but there was one specific soundbite that blew up. As of this piece on January 15, Cardona saying the following has been seen by 2.2 million viewers.

“If my music hit at the Royal Rumble…the place would explode, the roof would go off the place, social media would explode, I’d move merch,” Cardona said. “I know that. I haven’t been offered anything.”

Those few sentences seemingly caused a major outcry across the online wrestling community. Fans, personalities, and even other wrestlers had a lot to say. But think about it, if Cardona did return it would be a big moment that could lead to something special.

Cardona was once known as Zack Ryder and spent more than a decade in WWE. During that time, he’d capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship, the WWE United States Championship, and the Tag Team Championship. None of those reigns really amounted to much, as Ryder was widely seen as a joke or background character. But while he was doing that, it was the behind-the-scenes and online work that allowed Cardona to brand himself into an attraction when he hit the independent circuit in 2020.

Cardona was cut from WWE due to the company’s push to grow profits during COVID-19. He would rebrand himself into an independent wrestling superstar, capturing 21 titles in the five years since. He’s held championships in NWA, HOG, GCW, DDT and several other promotions, while appearing in the biggest companies in the world. Not only has Matt Cardona built himself into a name, but he did so in a way that showed other wrestlers there’s opportunity outside of the security that could be the WWE or other big companies in the industry. Cardona should not only speak with confidence about what he pulled off, but he should be celebrated for charting a course that was needed and is still needed today.

Seeing Matt Cardona in the Royal Rumble would be a big moment. It would be interesting to see how fans respond to his return, especially his new character. Would he be a main event talent at this point? Probably not. Would it be fun to see a one-off match between Cardona and GUNTHER for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Yes, yes it would. Cardona would have potential to be an attention-drawing character in WWE NXT, where he could even reach the NXT Championship. He has value in WWE at this point in his career and he shouldn’t be disparaged for pointing that out.

Matt Cardona has achieved a lot in professional wrestling and he should be recognized for doing that. He did so at a time when the industry was in a precarious position and continues to show the industry that there’s space for those looking to carve out their own path. Seeing him back in WWE would be a moment that would spark interest across the business.