Matt Cardona Reflects On Success Of Z! True Long Island Story

Matt Cardona was recently a guest on The Ring with Phil Strum, where he spoke about being unsatisfied with his position in WWE back when he was Zack Ryder.

"The Z! True Long Island Story, 2011, I wasn't happy with my position in WWE. I didn't walk out, mid-Raw, I did something about it. I changed my future, I worked my ass off, I took a chance, and I started that show. That YouTube show was all me. Editing it, writing it, filming it, putting it out. The fans took to it because this is organic. The fans saw what I was doing. They saw the quality, and by quality...the production quality was not good. They could tell it wasn't just me going to Raw, going to the pre-tape room, and someone in Stamford would edit it. This was me. They appreciated that. I formed this bond with a lot of fans that I still have to this day. You have to be ahead of the curve. Now, everyone is on the internet. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, it's free. It's a free tool for promotion, for advertising, which is great. Flipside, it's free for everybody. You have to stand out. You have to figure out a way to stand out and make people recognize you. That's tough. I'm up to the challenge."

If I could go back in time…the night I was pushed off the stage in a wheelchair on Raw, I should have walked into Johnny Ace’s office…placed my neck brace on the table and walked out because I wasn’t being respected enough as Internet Champion. pic.twitter.com/2mQiw4I61D

— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) May 17, 2022