The list of former WWE stars joining AEW just gets longer and longer and longer. The latest acquisition of the Tony Khan company is a former Intercontinental Champion.

Matt Cardona a.k.a Zack Ryder appeared on AEW Dynamite this week. He was seen the first time since April after being released by WWE after 15 years.

Yes, you read that right, 15 years. Ryder made his WWE debut in 2005, starting his career in the developmental territories of OVW.

His claim to fame came when he joined Edge in the La Familia stable as a sidekick along with Curt Hawkins. He even tasted some early success as the duo won the WWE tag team championships.

In 2009, Cardona would find himself in the land of Extreme. However, this time the WWE universe saw his new persona altogether.

He now carried short hair, tanned skin, sunglasses, a headband, half-trunks/half-tights. He displayed an arrogant Long Island character and more frequent uses of catchphrases “woo woo woo” and “you know it.”

Ryder’s character and gimmick changed. Unfortunately, his fortunes didn’t. He did retire ECW legend Tommy Dreamer, but he was booked in many losing matches and as an NXT mentor.

However, Ryder turned things around in 2011. That year was known as Ryder Revolution and was arguably the best year of Ryder’s career. He started a YouTube web series called Z! True Long Island Story in February 2011 to promote his character.

Ryder won against Dolph Ziggler to capture his first-ever singles title i.e. the United States Championship title at TLC.

His next big moment came four years later in 2016 when he had his big WrestleMania moment. He won the Intercontinental championship and shared a moment with his idol Razor Ramon.

Post that, it would unfortunately be another poor five years for Ryder in the company. In 2020, he was released by WWE.

Matt Cardona joins AEW after being released by WWE

On the latest edition of AEW Dynamite, Cody Rhodes defeated Warhorse for the TNT Championship. Post the match, Cody was blindsided by John Silver and Alex Reynolds of The Dark Order.

During this beatdown, a ripped Zack Ryder now known as Matt Cardona came to make the save. After clearing the house, Cardona ripped off his shirt, looked at the camera, and yelled, “I’m here!”

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This is a very smart move by Cody Rhodes and AEW. Cardona may have not been the most successful wrestler previously.

Surely, one cannot deny his popularity among the wrestling faithful. AEW can make good of his goodwill among the fans to increase their viewership and strengthen their hand over WWE.

Source: AEW Twitter

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