IMPACT star Matt Cardona recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective podcast to discuss a variety of different subjects, including how he’s been taking advantage of all the new opportunities place in front of him, and how Triple H criticized him when he created the Internet championship back in the early 2010s. Highlights from the interview are below.
On taking all the new opportunities he’s given:
“I believe success is how happy you are. Not how much money you have or how famous you are, it’s how happy you are with yourself. When you look in the mirror, are you happy with yourself? And right now, I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time because—not that I had handcuffs in WWE, I’m not saying that, I loved my time there. But the handcuffs are off. I can do whatever I want, I can say whatever I want, try whatever I want, and not everything I do is gonna be a success. I might fall flat on my face. But all I’ve ever wanted was opportunity,” Cardona explained, “and right now I’m just taking all these opportunities. And IMPACT, GCW, whatever it is, I’m gonna try to hit a home run. I might not, I might hit a single. I might strikeout. But I’m gonna try.”
Recalls the creation of the internet title and how Triple H criticized him:
“I wanted it to be taken seriously, so I spent like 1500 bucks, got a real belt made. And I brought it to TV to try to show Triple H, Vince, whoever [and to ask], ‘can I wear this on television?’ I just told this story on the podcast, and there are witnesses to this story. It’s during the day and everyone’s around the ring. It’s the rehearsal, Triple H is running the rehearsal. And I don’t remember if I’m wearing the title, or I have it on my shoulder, in my hands, whatever. And he says, ‘You’re such a mark for yourself.’ And I respond with something like, ‘Listen, I don’t really think I’m the champion of the internet, it’s a gimmick, like the Million Dollar title.’ And he says something like, ‘If this was ten years ago, the whole locker room would have kicked your ass.’ And I said, ‘Well, the whole locker room loves me.’ And then he said that’s why the houses are half empty. There was definitely some resistance to what I was doing.”
(H/T and transcribed by WrestleZone)