Former WWE Superstar Matt Cardona recently looked back on the biggest moment of his WWE career: his shocking Intercontinental Championship victory in a Ladder Match at WrestleMania 32. In a new interview, Cardona reflected on the emotional win and offered a surprising perspective on losing the title just 24 hours later on Monday Night Raw, stating that he believes the quick loss only adds to the overall story of his career.
Matt Cardona on Just Getting into the WrestleMania 32 Match
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Matt Cardona (formerly known as Zack Ryder in WWE) recalled that he wasn’t even originally scheduled to be in the seven-man Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania 32 in front of over 100,000 fans. He revealed that he only got the spot after another superstar was injured, and he had to personally plead his case to the head writer at the time.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be in the match and then someone got injured and I went to the head writer at the time and I just spilled my guts and basically why I have earned a spot in this match, why I deserve to be in this match,” Cardona said. “For some reason, they got me in and just hearing my music play at WrestleMania was the win.”
For a lifelong fan who had spent years fighting for a spot on the card, simply being in the match was a victory in itself.
The Ultimate Underdog Story
The Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania 32 was a star-studded affair, featuring Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Sin Cara, and Stardust. Matt Cardona was the ultimate underdog in the match, the one competitor that virtually no one expected to win. That’s what made the finish so shocking and emotional. At the end of the chaotic match, as The Miz was celebrating at the top of the ladder, about to unhook the championship, Cardona emerged to push him off and retrieve the title, creating one of the most memorable feel-good moments in WrestleMania history. His emotional celebration in the ring with his father was the culmination of a long and often frustrating journey.
“Walking down that aisle was the win. Okay yes, obviously winning the title was the greatest accomplishment in my career … maybe the best moment of my life,” he recalled.
“It Adds to the Zack Ryder Story”
Cardona’s fairytale moment, however, was short-lived. The very next night on Monday Night Raw, he was goaded into defending the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz. In a match that he wasn’t originally scheduled for, The Miz defeated Cardona to win the title, ending his reign at just one day. For many, this was a disappointing and frustrating creative decision. But for Cardona, it was just another chapter in the story of his underdog character.
“So the fact that it ended the next day, I think it adds to the Zack Ryder story.”
This perspective shows a performer who has a deep understanding of his own character arc. The story of Zack Ryder was always one of struggle, of a man who had to fight for every opportunity and was often knocked down just as he was about to reach the top. The one-day title reign, while brief, was the ultimate validation, and the immediate loss only reinforced the tragic-but-lovable underdog persona that got him over with the fans in the first place.
