Various: Matt Cardona on Post-WWE Career Being His Most Successful, Claudio Castagnoli on NJPW Debut, Indies

Jun 7, 2023

Matt Cardona Comments on His Post-WWE Career Being “Most Successful and Fun Time of My Career”

Matt Cardona recently reflected on Twitter about how his career since his departure from WWE in 2020 has been both his most successful and most fun time of his career.

“These 3 years (really 2 because of that fucking pandemic) being a “free agent” has been the most fun time of career. I don’t care how you define success…accolades, money, happiness…it’s been the most successful I’ve ever been in my career. Pro wrestling is all I’ve ever wanted to do…and I’m fortunate I’ve been able to do it for 20 years. Fuck proving people wrong. I just want to prove my fans and myself right. Everyone has a different path. Nobody…NOBODY has been counted out (by “the office”, the fans, fuck…even myself) and has come back more times than me! If you want this (or anything) bad enough, go for it! I still am. #StillHere #AlwayzReady #IndyGod #DeathmatchKing”

These 3 years (really 2 because of that fucking pandemic) being a “free agent” (🤮) has been the most fun time of career. I don’t care how you define success…accolades, money, happiness…it’s been the most successful I’ve ever been in my career. Pro wrestling is all I’ve ever… pic.twitter.com/U4ER5qSzvv
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) June 5, 2023

Claudio Castagnoli Comments on His NJPW Debut Being “Definitely a Moment to Remember”

Sports Illustrated held a recent interview with Claudio Castagnoli. One of the topics discussed included Castagnoli’s thoughts on his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling at this past Sunday’s Dominion 2023 event in Osaka, Japan.

“I was very focused, and because of that, I was very much in the moment. I always want to be in the moment from the second I step out into the arena in order to be the best I can be. Standing in the ring with Tanahashi to start my first match in NJPW is definitely a moment to remember for me.”

Castagnoli also gave his thoughts about his Giant Swing spot to NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada during their NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship match on the show.

“Swinging Okada, somebody I’ve known for a long time, in Japan, in my first match in NJPW, that is definitely a top swing. Mox said it yesterday—we have our visas and we’ll be back.”

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

During this past Sunday’s Crockett Cup 2023 Night 2 event, the National Wrestling Alliance recently announced that their next event will be taking place on July 8-9 in Chicago, Illinois.

Prestige Wrestling recently announced that Shawn Spears will be making an appearance for the company at their No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules event on September 9th in Missoula, Montana.

Major League Wrestling recently announced that O’Shay Edwards will be making his official debut for the company at their Never Say Never 2023 event on July 8th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre recently announced that New Japan Pro Wrestling talents Tetsuya Naito, El Desperado, Bushi, Tiger Mask, and Rocky Romero will be making appearances for the company at their events from June 26-30 in Mexico.

This past Sunday’s Cage of Survival 2 event for Game Changer Wrestling in Atlantic City, New Jersey featured Blake Christian defeating Masha Slamovich to be crowned the new GCW World Champion.

GCW recently announced a new match for the card of their Clean Up Man event on July 8th in Hartford, Conneticut:

GCW World Championship – Richard Holliday vs. Blake Christian (c)

NJPW recently announced two new matches for the card of their NJPW Strong Independence Day events on July 4-5 in Tokyo, Japan:

Night 1, July 4th – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Clark Connors & Dan Moloney vs. Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP) (c)
Night 2, July 5th – NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – Eddie Kingston vs. KENTA (c)

NJPW also recently announced a new match for the card of their Yuji Nagata’s Blue Justice XII event on June 18th in Chiba, Japan:

NJPW vs. AJPW match – Yuji Nagata, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima, & Master Wato (NJPW) vs. Yuma Anzai, Atsuki, Yuma Aoyagi, & Kento Miyahara (AJPW)

Impact Wrestling recently announced that Madman Fulton will be making an appearance for the company at their Against All Odds 2023 on June 9th in Columbus, Ohio, This will be Fulton’s first appearance in Impact since this past March.

Impact also recently announced a new match for the card of their Against All Odds 2023 event on June 9th in Columbus: