Matt Cardona: I Thought It Would Be Edge vs. Hawkins vs. Ryder At WrestleMania 25

Matt Cardona reflects on getting to wrestle his dream match on the March 30th edition of AEW Collision.

Matt Cardona reflects on getting to wrestle his dream match on AEW Collision.

On the March 30th edition of AEW Collision, Adam Copeland set a Cope Open Challenge that was answered by a man he knew very well in Matt Cardona, formerly Zack Ryder in WWE. Cardona would be unsuccessful in his TNT Title Challenge, but had achieved his dream match.

The former Edgehead took to social media on Sunday morning to give his thoughts on the match and having the opportunity to face off with Copeland in his dream match, thanking both Tony Khan and Copeland for the opportunity.

@RatedRCope vs. Matt Cardona…my dream match…finally happened last night at #AEWCollision. When I was in high school, Edge was one of my favorite wrestlers. I’d have matches with him (an invisible version) in my bedroom or trampoline. Him reinventing himself into the Rated R Superstar made me an even bigger fan of his. A couple of years later,@Myers_Wrestling and I made it to WWE but were drowning as The Major Brothers. We were about be fired. We had an idea to be Adam’s entourage…his Edgeheads. He didn’t need us but we certainly needed him. He took a chance on us, saved our careers, and changed our lives. We went from sitting in catering about to be fired to wrestling guys like Undertaker, Batista, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, etc. We learned so much from working so close to Adam. Our first time at WrestleMania was being involved in the main event! I thought the next year at WrestleMania it’d be Edge vs. Hawkins vs. Ryder. That didn’t happen. LOL. 16 years (holy shit!) flew by so fast. Adam had to retire due to a neck injury in 2011. My dream match would never happen. Adam returns to WWE in 2020. I get fired from WWE in 2020. My dream match would never happen. I’ve been busting my ass these past 4 years to reinvent myself. Adam is the Rated R Superstar and I’m the Self Made Superstar. I’ve been everywhere. I’ve wrestled everyone. When Adam joined @AEW in 2023, I knew my dream match was back on the table. Last night in Canada, Adam had the Cope Open…an open challenge for his TNT Championship. I accepted. The fans didn’t forget the history. There was a HOLY SHIT chant on my god damn entrance. I may have lost but I learned even more from Adam from that match. It was a night that I’ll never forget. I finally wrestled my dream match. Thank you Adam. Thank you @TonyKhan for the opportunity.

.@RatedRCope vs. Matt Cardona…my dream match…finally happened last night at #AEWCollision.

When I was in high school, Edge was one of my favorite wrestlers. I’d have matches with him (an invisible version) in my bedroom or trampoline.

Him reinventing himself into the Rated R… pic.twitter.com/6Apy59XWzM

— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) March 31, 2024

Cardona further spoke about his match with Copeland in a digital exclusive posted to AEW’s social media on Sunday. You can read more about that here.