Gavin Hastings partners with The Famous Grouse for The Spirit of Rugby campaign
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United States Matt Cardona has forged a significant career in professional wrestling, transitioning from WWE success to becoming a prominent figure on the independent circuit, known for his innovative self-promotion and diverse championship reigns.
The collaboration between WWE's NXT brand and TNA Wrestling continued this week with the crossover event Showdown.
Brian Myers and Matt Cardona's company and AEW are partnering up to make action figures. This will be their second figure that they've announced as a 'Smart' Mark Sterling figure is already in the pipeline.
MAJOR, founded by wrestling stars Matt Cardona and Brian Myers, is officially partnering with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) for a line up of AEW Big Rubber Guys ... Their Major brand includes products like Major ..., Matt Cardona and Brian Myers started the Major line to turn their love for toy collecting into a business.
Matt Cardona's Toy Company Lands Deal With Major League Baseball.
Matthew Brett Cardona was born on May 14, 1985, in Merrick, New York. Early in his life, while in high school, he faced and overcame synovial sarcoma, which began in his foot and spread to his lungs, causing him to miss a year of school. Cardona began his professional wrestling career in 2004 with the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) under the name Brett Matthews, frequently teaming with Brian Myers. The duo secured the NYWC Tag Team Championship twice, first in June 2004 and again in January 2006.
In 2005, Cardona’s journey led him to WWE, where he signed a developmental contract in February 2006. He initially competed as Brett Major in Deep South Wrestling (DSW), winning the DSW Tag Team Championship twice with Brian Myers. Moving to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in 2007, he captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once. In May 2007, he and Myers, rebranded as Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, debuted on WWE’s main roster. As part of “La Familia” alongside Edge and Vickie Guerrero, they won the WWE Tag Team Championship in July 2008. After the tag team split in 2009, Ryder adopted an arrogant “Long Island guido” persona, which he further developed through his YouTube web series, “Z! True Long Island Story,” launched in 2011. This innovative self-promotion led to a significant fan following and his first singles title, the WWE United States Championship, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs in 2011. He later won the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 32 in 2016 and a second WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Curt Hawkins in 2019.
After his release from WWE in April 2020, Cardona embraced the independent circuit, making appearances in major promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Impact Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He began accumulating numerous championships, including the GCW World Championship (2021), the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship (2022), the Impact Digital Media Championship (2022), and the DDT Universal Championship (2023). His success earned him the “Indie Wrestler of the Year” award from Pro Wrestling Illustrated in both 2022 and 2023. Cardona returned to TNA in 2024 and made a return to NXT in October 2025 as part of an invasion storyline, further expanding his notable career.
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