Although Matt Cardona has joined AEW that doesn’t mean that he’s under a long term deal.
Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder, is currently working on a five appearance deal with the company, according to Wrestling Inc.
It appears to be a tryout situation for the former WWE Intercontinental Champion with the possibility of him signing a longer deal should he impress AEW executives including AEW President Tony Khan.
Ryder had been on the sidelines while he awaited his WWE non-compete deal to expire from April through July 15th. Of course, he was let go during the company’s massive layoffs and furloughs.
The public reason given at the time was that the cuts were due to budget cuts related to the coronavirus. It turns out that the firings came during the same quarter that WWE had its most profitable time to date.
Cardona made his promotional debut this past Wednesday night when he saved Cody Rhodes from an attack by the Dark Order. This came right after Rhodes had successfully retained the AEW TNT Title over Warhorse.
Cardona will team with Cody to face John Silver and Alex Reynolds next Wednesday night on Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT.
