Matt Cardona Debuts On AEW Dynamite

The non-compete clauses for WWE's plethora of released talents lapsed close to two weeks ago, and it's little surprise that the former Zack Ryder has quickly found a new home.

A little more than three months after his WWE release, Matt Cardona made his debut for All Elite Wrestling on Wednesday night's episode of Dynamite.

Following Cody Rhodes' successful TNT title defense against Warhorse, the two were attacked by John Silver and Alex Reynolds of the Dark Order. Seconds later, Cardona hit the ring and took both Reynolds and Silver out, before embracing both Rhodes and Arn Anderson.

As noted, the former Zack Ryder was released from WWE in the middle of April, as part of the massive wave of talent and staff releases. The non-compete expired the weekend of Impact Wrestling's Slammiversary. Cardona's partner Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) recently debuted for Impact, having been released in that same group of mass cuts.

As Ryder, Cardona's last match took place on the March 9 episode of Monday Night Raw, losing to Bobby Lashley in a squash.

In his WWE run, Cardona held Tag Team gold twice, and is a former Intercontinental and United States champion.