Former WWE Star: "I'm Responsible For AEW"

Call it an assist? The rise of AEW has changed the way the wrestling world in a huge way. Rather than being dominated by WWE, the industry now has another style in AEW, which presents wrestling in a bit of a different way. That way was developed by a few different names coming together, but now another wrestling star is laying claim to coming up with the story that AEW is known for using.

During an interview with Not Sam Wrestling, former WWE and AEW star Matt Cardona (better known as Zack Ryder) said that his previous efforts led to the rise of AEW and Being The Elite. Cardona said that his Z! True Long Island Story show caused the creation of Being The Elite, which led to the formation of AEW. Z! True Long Island Story debuted in February 2011 and ended in January 2013 after 100 episodes. Cardona wrestled a pair of matches with AEW in 2020.

Opinion: It might sound like a big exaggeration but at the end of the day, Cardona did something that led to a major development in wrestling. Cardona was a major player in the rise of wrestlers being able to push themselves online and the wrestlers who helped form AEW used that same platform. I’m not sure if AEW doesn’t happen without Cardona, but what he did certainly changed wrestling for the better.