Zack Ryder Talks WWE Not Capitalizing On His Popularity, Why He Didn’t Sign A New Deal

>> Click Here To Bet On Pro Wrestling and More! <<

Zack Ryder Talks WWE Not Capitalizing On His Popularity, Why He Didn’t Sign A New Deal

Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

Matt Cardona (formerly known as Zack Ryder) was one of the many WWE superstars released from the company last month. While he’s been beginning to prepare himself for life after WWE, he recently spoke about how he believed the company did not capitalize on his popularity.

Speaking during SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio (transcriptions via Post Wrestling), Cardona reflected on his release, and said that it was disappointing to not see WWE capitalize on his popularity during his rise to fame in 2011.

“I’m not going to lie, I saw when I was doing the YouTube show in 2011, I saw my hard work getting rewarded and I was rewarded by the fans, right?” he said. “They would bring my signs or chant my name at shows I wasn’t even at or buy my merch, and it kind of forced WWE to use me. So, I loved getting my hard work rewarded by the fans, and then, I was continuing the YouTube show, and instead of seeing everything go up, it was going down and down fast. I should have knocked on the door and asked Vince McMahon straight-up ‘What’s going on? What can I do to change what’s going on?’, but I didn’t. So, I can only blame myself because I don’t know what was said behind those doors. If I presented myself and asked maybe I would know. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t realize what was going on, that my career was going downhill fast. 2011 I worked my way up, then two years later WrestleMania in New York/New Jersey I literally was watching the show from Miz’s friend’s and family press box and felt like a total loser, it sucked.”

While Cardona may be gone now, it does seem like he’s preparing to get himself back into the ring at some point. He recently began trying to get trademarks for a variety of his old nicknames, and took to social media after being released to tell others how they can reach out to him.

RELATED: Matt Cardona (FKA Zack Ryder) Wants To Wrestle In Japan