There are many “right” ways for a legend to ride off into the sunset. NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi just pulled off one of the best imaginable.
You can count me among the many, many people in the industry who popped big at the news Matt Cardona has signed a new full-time deal with WWE.
Matt Cardona is literally the blueprint for how any talent should handle their post-WWE or post-major organization career. Matt had a hell of a first run as Zack Ryder in WWE from 2005 to 2020. Although many people believed he never really got his due, he certainly showed he’s a guy who can get himself over no matter how much or little time and opportunity he may have been afforded.
Long-time fans will know Matt was an early adopter of YouTube, using his own channel to tell deeper stories about himself and what wrestling means to him. Matt constantly thought of ways to help himself, even if he was bumping into a glass ceiling at WWE.
History kind of forgets that when Matt was part of that massive WWE COVID-era talent cull, he was initially lost in the mix. He had a two-date gig with AEW, Cody Rhodes helped bring him in, and while many expected him to sign there, for whatever reason it was underwhelming and that was it.
Matt was left kicking around until — and Matt will be the first to tell you this — his wife Chelsea Green (another one of the industry’s good people) told him, “You should take every booking. It should feel like you are everywhere, all the time, and could appear in any promotion.”
Matt took that idea and crushed it. He did “anti-Zack Ryder” matches and became the Death Match King in GCW, which Matt is so rightly proud of.
We brought Matt (and Chelsea) in regularly for TNA. Matt is effortless to work with. A pro’s pro. Easy on travel. Easy and fair to negotiate with. Easy to work with creatively. If you need something from him, it is a, 'Yes, let’s make that happen.'
I am so happy Matt got to do all the things on the indies over the past five years. He said all along his goal was to return to WWE, if he could go back on his own terms.
Well, after the fun appearance as Zack Ryder late last year in the Last Time Is Now Tournament, he’s on "SmackDown" full time as Matt Cardona, and it appears WWE is now cool with him continuing his collectibles and merch podcast, which they weren’t under the Vince McMahon regime.
Matt leaves behind a clear roadmap to wrestlers who get canned by WWE or AEW — or, really, anyone who loses their “dream job.” Reinvention is possible if you work hard and take chances on yourself.
Not surprisingly, when I launched my new Maple Leaf Pro promotion two years ago, I couldn’t wait to bring Matt in. He’s just a joy to deal with. Here’s his match vs Thom Latimer from MLP Resurrection.
On Jan. 4 at Wrestle Kingdom, it was the end of an era. Hiroshi Tanahashi retired that night. There is no overstating what that means to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Nobody carried that company longer or more consistently. He was the guy who showed up when NJPW needed stability and credibility, and he gave them both for years.
Like John Cena in WWE, Tanahashi was the standard. Night in, night out, tour after tour.
When people talk about New Japan’s modern identity, it starts with him. You can point to stars that came after, but he was the foundation. Even with Kazuchika Okada leaving. Even with Will Ospreay leaving. The company still exists in a recognizable form because Tanahashi rebuilt it in his image.
What Tanahashi understood better than almost anyone is how to evolve without clinging. He went from being the guy, to the star, to the legend, and then into leadership, without forcing himself into spots he no longer needed to prove he could hang in.
His body has taken a beating over the years, but he still knows exactly how to structure a match and connect with a crowd. The audience trusted him and, in top-drawer pro wrestling, that matters more than anything.
We talked all year last year about how someone like John Cena or Sting should go out. This was another example of getting it right. Not dragging it out. Not overstaying. Not pretending Father Time does not exist or can’t land a blow. Tanahashi stood in the center, gave everything he had left, and left with dignity. The result — him losing to a returning Okada — was never in doubt, and it should not have been.
Winning or losing, for him, was not the point.
The important thing is that Wrestle Kingdom ended with Tanahashi getting his flowers, but the show clearly pointed forward. Younger wrestlers were featured. Olympian Aaron Wolf made his debut and was booked perfectly and carefully. The next generation was given space. New Japan honored its past without getting stuck in it, and that is not easy to do. Tanahashi did not just retire. He left behind a structure that can actually continue.
There are many “right” ways for a legend to ride off into the sunset.
This was one of the perfect ways.
I am excited to see what Jake Something — now Jake Doyle — can do in AEW. He debuted Wednesday night as part of The Don Callis Family. He has tremendous upside, and I think Tony Khan and the team can really position Jake into something special.
I’ve known Jake a long time, close to 10 years at this point, going back to his early days on the independents. He has tremendous upside. He used to come into the Can-Am Dojo regularly with Hakeem Zane, who later became Rohit Raju in TNA. From very early on, Jake stood out physically and mentally. He was always someone we pegged as having real upside — not a project, but a guy who, if slotted correctly, could become something meaningful.
One of the clearest memories I have is from the DeAngelo Williams mini-camp we ran to get Williams ready for his match at Slammiversary 2017. That was NFL star DeAngelo teaming with Moose against Eli Drake — who's now LA Knight — and Chris Masters.
In rehearsals, Jake played the role of Chris Masters, Joe Coleman played Eli Drake, DeAngelo played himself, and I ended up playing Moose. We had four days to get Williams ready for a 20-minute match, and Jake was a key part of that prep — and even then, you could see how reliable and adaptable he was.
Physically, in 2026, Jake is right in his prime. He is around 6-foot-3, about 270 pounds, and he moves like someone much smaller. He is a legitimate heavyweight in an era where true heavyweights are becoming rare, especially in AEW, which is far deeper at junior heavyweight than super heavyweight.
We had big plans for Jake when he returned to TNA in 2023, but timing, injuries and circumstances never fully lined up the way we hoped.
After my departure, he became one of those guys who was “there” rather than someone being actively built. That happens more often than people realize. This AEW opportunity feels different though, especially with Callis as his mentor. If Jake hits the ground running like I know he can, people are going to see very quickly why we always believed in him.
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D’Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D’Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
Category: General Sports
