Matt Cardona Explains Why He Tried To Trademark Old WWE Name

Despite not wrestling since 2020 under the name Zack Ryder following his WWE release, it was recently reported that Matt Cardona attempted to secure the trademark for the name but failed to do so. 

Considering that Cardona had stated he would never wrestle under the Zack Ryder name again in WWE or wrestling, many pondered what the use for trademarking the name would be. Appearing on "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy," Cardona addressed his decision to attempt to secure the trademark and what he planned on doing with the name if he was successful.

"I tried to get the Zack Ryder trademark," Cardona said. "It had lapsed. WWE had let it go and I, and I tried to get it ... I wasn't going to be Zack Ryder on the indies. I wanted to film a Zack Ryder versus Matt Cardona cinematic match, you know, Matt versus Zack." 

He continued, "I knew there was a chance WWE would try to stop that. They contacted my lawyer and I said, 'Okay, you got it. I'm not fighting this.'" 

Cardona would not be the first wrestler to attempt to potentially face off against themself in a cinematic match, as Ethan Page took part in one during his last match with Impact Wrestling prior to making his way to AEW. 

Despite rumors swirling around a return to WWE — with real-life wife Chelsea Green's return to WWE playing those up even more — he has yet to appear for the company. Cardona has found success outside of WWE without using the Zack Ryder name, winning the GCW and NWA World Championships under his real name, Matt Cardona.

If you use quotes in this article, please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.