Professional wrestling legend Chris Jericho has just begun his reign as the Ring of Honor (ROH) World Champion in AEW.
Along with The Learning Tree, Jericho defeated Mark Briscoe for the title and successfully defended it against Tomohiro Ishii.
Now, 41+ days into his title reign, Jericho has been challenged by a surprising and beloved professional wrestling icon.
During his “TV Time” segment during HonorClub, Matt Cardona made a surprise appearance and challenged Jericho for the ROH World Championship.
Cardona and Jericho will now face off at the Hammerstein Ballroom during ROH Final Battle on Dec. 20, 2024.
The build-up for this feud seemingly began on Nov. 28 after Jericho declared himself the “King of New York.”
“LOL. Chris, I love ya and I respect the hell out you…but King? Of New York?!” Cardona asked. “I am the King of your cruise… I am the Deathmatch King… If anybody is the King of New York… it’s me. And aren’t you Canadian?”
LOL. Chris, I love ya and I respect the hell out you…but King? Of New York?!
I am the King of your cruise…
I am the Deathmatch King…
If anybody is the King of New York…it’s me.
And aren’t you Canadian? https://t.co/ulKZ95L9RE
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) November 29, 2024
Cardona began his professional wrestling career in 2004 with the New York Wrestling Connection under the name Brett Matthews before signing with WWE in 2006.
Renamed Brett Major, Cardona worked in WWE’s developmental territories Deep South Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling before joining WWE proper.
Cardona joined ECW alongside tag team partner Brian Myers, whose name was changed to Brian Major. They were eventually drafted to SmackDown where Cardona’s name was changed to Zack Ryder and Myers’ to Curt Hawkins.
The duo aligned with Edge (Adam Copeland), Vickie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, and Bam Neely to form the La Familia stable.
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In 2009, Cardona returned to ECW alone and changed Zack Ryder to the “Long Island Loudmouth” persona. Ryder was often booked to lose and became relatively unpopular, leaving Cardona dissatisfied with his time at WWE.
Cardona then started a YouTube series in February 2011 called “Z! True Long Island Story” to further promote his character. The series was a success and prompted WWE to run out of Zack Ryder merchandise even though he wasn’t appearing on television.
This would result in a reappraisal of Cardona, eventually leading to him winning the Intercontinental and United States Championships. However, he would continue to be booked poorly due to Cardona being a self-made favorite.
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Cardona was eventually released due to budget cuts. However, this turned out to be a great career move for Cardona.
Now adopting his real name, Cardona would work in multiple promotions, including AEW, Impact Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, DDT Pro-Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), and more.
Cardona became an iconic face of the independent scene, winning countless titles, including the DDT Universal Championship, the Impact Digital Media Championship, the GCW World Championship, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and many more.
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