Former Intercontinental Champion Turned Down 5 Year Deal With WWE

Over the last few years fans have seen a number of familiar faces get released from WWE, and in 2020 the company decided to part ways with Zack Ryder. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion has since found success using his real name Matt Cardona on the independent scene, but it sounds like the company tried to lock him down before the mass releases became a regular thing.

During an interview with Good Journeys with Second Mountain, Cardona noted that a year before he was released WWE offered him a five year deal, but he was hesitant to sign because he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay with the company.

“Well, I did not see it coming leading up to that. But that morning, at the time worked for WWE, all the talent got a video message from Vince McMahon basically saying that there would be some cuts. And once we got that message I knew, ‘okay, I’m probably gonna be one of the guys on that list.’ I didn’t know for sure. A year prior, WWE had offered I’d say pretty much everybody a new five-year contract with significantly more money. But I did not sign that contract because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay or go.”

“At that time I wasn’t sure like, ‘do I wanna stick around here? Do I wanna stay here for another five years?’ I wasn’t sure. And for an entire year I’d be back and forth negotiating the anxiety was weighing on me. Do I stay? Do I go? What do I do? Ultimately the decision was made for me. If I wasn’t released in April, my contract would’ve been up in August.

“So, that morning when Brian Myers gets the call, guys like Heath [Slater], Gallows, Anderson, I still had not gotten the call yet, and I was thinking to myself, ‘oh my God! Are they just gonna let me rot until August?’ At that point I was like, ‘please, call me and fire me. Please, so at least I can get my life started.’ So, the call eventually came and I needed it. The weight was lifted off my shoulder.”

H/T Sportskeeda