In a move that made wrestling fans do a double-take, Adam Copeland, fresh off his victory lap as the new TNT Champion, kicked off his much-anticipated “Cope Open” on this week’s “AEW Collision.” What was supposed to be just another day at the office turned into an impromptu high school reunion when indie wrestling’s prodigal son, Matt Cardona, crashed the party like he heard there was free cake.
Despite being as contractually attached to AEW as a cat is to its owner when it wants food, Cardona answered Copeland’s open challenge, proving that the term “free agent” is just another way to say “surprise guest.” Fightful Select quickly buzzed the wrestling world’s phones with news faster than a meme goes viral, confirming that Cardona, also known in dark corners of the wrestling world as the “Death Match King,” hasn’t officially joined the AEW family. Instead, he just popped over to Canada to give Copeland a run for his money, in a match that had more back-and-forth than a political debate.
But wait, there’s a plot twist – Cardona was supposed to be defending his Squared Circle Expo Championship against Ultimo Dragon. Instead, he played hot potato with the title, passing it to Nick Nemeth just so he could hop on a flight to Canada. Talk about having a busy weekend.
For those scratching their heads trying to place where they’ve seen this matchup before, let’s crank the time machine back to 2007, when Cardona and Copeland (then known as Zack Ryder and Edge, respectively) were WWE buddies. They were as thick as thieves, with Cardona even helping Copeland hold onto the World Heavyweight Championship like it was a fragile egg in a spoon race. Fast forward, and here they are in AEW, throwing down like it’s 2007 all over again.
Since being released into the wilds of the indie wrestling scene in 2020, Cardona has been everywhere. Literally, everywhere. There’s a good chance he’s wrestled in your backyard and you didn’t even notice. He’s been so omnipresent that he’s half-jokingly taken credit for AEW’s existence, which, if true, makes his surprise appearance less “random indie wrestler” and more “prodigal son returns.”
In a night that was supposed to be all about Copeland and his shiny TNT Championship, it was Cardona who stole the spotlight, proving that in wrestling, you can always come home again – especially if you leave the door unlocked.