The Smackers Thread

[TheScarlettChad]

1 minute ago, Kfogg1991 said:

Mate I'm not even ashamed to admit I wasn't expecting cardona for this one (it was pretty common knowledge he'd be appearing) 

When that horrendous theme song hit the audible happiness was loud, when I heard his name mentioned as a suprise return I hated the idea, just because his run in the WWE was as lower/mid talent that didn't get looked at or offered chance too be much more.

His body of work on the independents has been staggering and he started to show what a huge star he could be not just one dimensional catchphrase worker he was previously and alot has come from his time with WWE and middle finger to the Man sort of thing.

But it was amazing seeing him using that awful music was cringe but commentary gave so much respect and in depth information about his career outside the WWE including talking about him doing deathmatches which got a Pop from me.

It was perfect because they didn't roll him out for the quick pop and content then bury him like we've seen in the past I'm more intrigued who else will get this opportunity if this is what they'll be treated and used like.

 

Drew being the last man on team vision just perfectly completes a random team with absolutely no reason or meaning literally because they have to have a war games match hasn't been so uninspiring than this.

That;'s the best use of Cardona. 

He's shite.

[RedTwoster]

3 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

That;'s the best use of Cardona. 

He's shite.

He’s perfectly fine, and I imagine he’d be an enjoyable midcard heel if they were to resign him, but using him as a mystery entrant was a strange choice. Like I said, he’d have been a fun surprise for the Dragunov open challenge, but in the context of this tournament it was a weird choice. 

[TheScarlettChad]

I thought that but then I remembered he was meant to be Cena's best mate in 2012 before Cena EMBRACED THE HATE and stole his Mrs of course.

 

[The King of Old School]

"How can we make War Games more interesting?"

"Add serial loser Drew McIntyre, that will do"

Fucking hell.

Might aswell add Theory and LA Knight as the last competitors and be done with it, it's a dead match.

Rest of it was just there, agree Zach Ryder was a poor choice of a surprise. He's OK but not sure need to see him back in WWE.

The whole women's segment at the start was so cringe, not sure if they are just dreadful actresses or it's the material given. Bit of both maybe.

Big fan of Jade, incredible look. Hopefully she just has sub 5 minute matches destroying everyone until Mania. Rhea would he a good opponent for her i think. Michin and B-Fab can get in the bin though.

Dragunov is brilliant in ring, just looks a bit of a berk for ducking Ciampa though.

Edited November 15, 2025 by The King of Old School

[Supremo]

Nobody sums up Matt Cardona better than the much-missed Kevin Owens.

 

[TheScarlettChad]

Matt's pure cope that he enjoys being a deathmatch wrestler, when he's a self admitted WWE superfan is all a bit sad. Maybe now he'll get to job again like he did the last time he was there, I noted he was wearing that 2011 T Shirt on Smackdown. Almost fifteen years since the "We Want Ryder" chant? Grief.

Edited November 15, 2025 by TheScarlettChad

[FLips]

What was shocking to me is that even juiced up to the gills he still looked like a jabroni. Even Jinder Mahal got a world title run when you could play connect the dots on his back, but this guy looked more like a Disco Inferno lowercard loser.

[waters44]

I can’t stand Cardona, just one of those wrestlers who stinks up everything I see him in. The desperation to be back at the fed really gets me. There was a thread recently about wrestlers you hate and he was prime target number one for me but I didn’t want to spend the time posting about him. 

I put off watching WWE Unreal because I knew there was an episode about Chelsea Green and I just couldn’t bear the thought of him in the show. I cannot tell you how happy I was when I finally watched it and there’s not a whiff of him anywhere! It was like Chelsea had gone round the house hiding pictures of him in the sideboard drawers. 

Surfing YouTube the other day and his big face appeared with a video called “I made my own UNREAL documentary” and I just thought what a pleb 

[JLM]

Him returning as Zack Ryder did make me chuckle a bit as Graves was doing the big spiel about him reinventing himself and being the king of the indies. Felt a bit like him doing the “from undesirable to UNDENIABLE” bit for a returning Stardust. 

[Arch Stanton]

I just really like Matt Cardona, I can't help but root for him and have done for years. I think it's something to do with his passion for the business and the hard work he puts in despite the pretty obvious shortcomings that he's always had as a performer. He's always been a total manchild, a nerd and a great big mark for wrestling and I can get behind that. Obviously plenty of other fans do feel the same way, even if it goes against the grain of general opinion of him on here. I think there's a big element of fans seeing something of themselves in him and living the dream vicariously through him.

I do know he's pretty crap, although he is much improved since leaving WWE, and he just never quits. I don't think there's a wrestler out there grafting harder to get to where they want to be. He's a pretty funny and open guy too, it's not as if he's ever hidden the fact that his long term goal is to get back to WWE. Sadly for him, I'm just not sure if he'll ever get the chance he's working for.

Edited November 15, 2025 by Arch Stanton

[Supremo]

As a TV performer in twenty twenty five, I’m not a fan of Zack Ryder, but there’s no denying he got the shitty end of the stick back in the day.

Lad did everything they pretended they wanted their talent to do, got himself massively over, and they completely fucked him over out of spite. Remember when The Rock was getting drowned out by, “We Want Ryder,” chants? Wild times.

I might go back and watch a few episodes of, “Z! The True Long Islang Story.” I remember them being really funny at the time. That bit they did about his Dad’s favourite wrestler being John Morrison was hilarious.

Also, despite the pearl clutchers saying otherwise, the near riots he caused when he turned up in GCW was amazing. Proper heat! I love it! Almost convinced me GCW was worth following regularly (it wasn’t).

Frankly, I just wish Ryder had half the talent in the ring that he clearly has in terms of passion and creativity for this business. He’s the definition of, “…and then the bell rings.”

[BomberPat]

one of my trainers once said, "Zack Ryder did really well for himself, considering he's Zack Ryder". The YouTube stuff probably saved him a few years of his run, and got him more exposure than he would have got without it, but his ceiling was around the Intercontinental Title, and that's where he got. No denying that he was booked to look like a clown, and that a large part of that was the usual pettiness for somebody getting over outside of the system, but on the other hand, how were they supposed to capitalise on a YouTube show which presented him as a schmuck who couldn't get booked on TV, and whose own family preferred other wrestlers? When his own show cast him as a clown, it would be weird to book him as a world-beater on TV to capitalise on it.

[DavidB6937]

He's someone I have absolutely no interest in watching but have a lot of respect for on a personal level. Him and Chelsea are both fantastic people, but Chelsea has managed to be far more entertaining on screen.

Anyway, the low point of Smackdown wasn't even Ryder. It was bringing back a Survivor Series elimination match for Solo and his goons vs poor Sami, Nakamura, Fenix and MCMG. Jeez. Talk about killing my enthusiasm for something I would've thought I'd be excited to come back.

[The Gaffer]

Thought Ryder did more than fine out of the noise he caused. MSG moment and a de facto, company approved WrestleMania Moment is a mercy compared with the Gratitude Era title win and subsequent fuck all plans that Kofi got.

He surfed the fan grassroots, WWE-sucks-now zeitgeist. In 1999 he'd have been getting the shit kicked out of him by PMS on an episode of Heat. 

Edited November 15, 2025 by The Gaffer

[Supremo]

I’d forgotten Ryder was in a relationship with Chelsea Green. If they can knock up a goth gimmick with a spooky entrance he’ll probably bank himself a five year contract.