Zack Ryder

Matthew Cardona
	Ryder at a WWE event in 2014.
Data
Surname	Matthew Cardona
Ring name	Brett Major ; Brett Matthews ; Zack Ryder
Additions to names	The Long Island Iced Z
height	185 cm
Fighting weight	97 kg
birth	May 14, 1985 (age 35) ; North Merrick, New York , USA
Announced from	Long Island, New York
Trained by	Mikey Whipwreck
debut	2004

Matthew Cardona (born May 14, 1985 in North Merrick, Long Island , New York ), better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American wrestler who was under contract with the WWE from 2005 to 2020 . It was recently confirmed that Zack will now be called in-ring Matt Cardona and that his real name will be used. His greatest successes to date are receiving the WWE United States Championship , receiving the WWE Intercontinental Championship and receiving the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship twice .

Wrestling career

Beginnings

Cardona started out on August 14, 2004 with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC for short) as Brett Matthews . At NYWC he was allowed to win the NYWC Tag Team Championship twice with Brian Myers . He played his last match on April 22, 2006.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2005-2020)

Development Leagues (2005-2007)

During his time at NYWC Cardona played a match on April 18, 2005 at SmackDown against Matt Morgan .

In June 2006 Cardona made his debut in the WWE-Aufbauliga Deep South Wrestling (DSW for short) as a board major . At DSW, Cardona and his tag team partner Brian Major were able to hold the DSW Tag Team Championship twice. After the WWE split from DSW, Cardona joined Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Cardona made his debut at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW for short) in May 2007. There Cardona and Brian once held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship.

La Familia (2007-2009)

On May 1, 2007, he made his debut as a Brett Major at ECW with Brian Major as Major Brothers . A short time later, on June 12, 2007, he and his partner were switched to SmackDown in the additional lottery. After they initially competed there as Major Brothers , they took on new ring names from December 17, 2007. Since then Cardona has appeared as Zack Ryder . Cardona and his partner Curt Hawkins were put on the side of Edge . With this as well as Bam Neely, Chavo Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero they formed La Familia . From then on Cardona and Hawkins appeared as Edge's lackeys and feuded with him against Rey Mysterio , the Undertaker and Batista, among others . At the Great American Bash 2008 Cardona won the WWE Tag Team Championship with Curt Hawkins (formerly Brian Major) . This made them the youngest Tag Team Champions in the WWE to date. On September 21, 2008 they lost the title to The Colóns ( Carlito & Primo ).

Long Island Loudmouth and the Ryder Revolution (2009-2012)

Ryder as WWE Intercontinental Champion in 2016.

At the Supplemental Draft on April 15, 2009 Cardona switched back to the ECW brand, which resulted in the end of the tag team with Curt Hawkins. Another gimmick change then followed. After the ECW was discontinued, Cardona switched to RAW , but mostly appeared on WWE Superstars . In Season 2 of WWE NXT , he was the pro of rookie Titus O'Neil .

Cardona has been shooting an internet show called Z since February 2011 ! True Long Island Story on Youtube. This came about because he was dissatisfied with his time on TV and wanted to draw attention to himself. As a result, he gained fans and sold his own fan merchandise outside of the WWE shop. Due to its increasing popularity, the WWE Cardona again used more on TV and since then he has been part of the shows RAW and SmackDown as well as the PPV's.

On July 26, 2011 in the records to Smackdown, he was by Triple H to General Manager Assistant appointed. At the major event WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 18, 2011 , Cardona won the WWE United States Championship from Dolph Ziggler . He lost this title on January 16, 2012 at RAW to Jack Swagger .

Various feuds and WWE Intercontinental Champion (2012-2016)

At WrestleMania 32 , he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time in a ladder match . The day after, he lost the title to The Miz .

In July 2015, it was concluded Cardona with Mojo Rawley for Tag Team The Hype Bros together. With this he appeared in the development league WWE NXT . At the WWE Draft on July 19, 2016, Rawley also made his debut on the main roster. Both were assigned to the SmackDown squad and appear there as a team. On December 13, 2016, Cardona injured his knee during a match on a SmackDown TV show. This injury caused him to sit out for a few months.

At Wrestlemania 35 on April 7, 2019, Ryder and his tag team partner Curt Hawkins won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship from The Revival Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson. This reign lasted 64 days and ultimately lost the title in a Triple Threat Tag Team match against The Revival Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder. The Usos were also involved in this match .