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#StillHere to #NotThere to #1: Zack Ryder Rules PWTs

Zack Ryder

Black Wednesday saw a lot of longtime familiar faces in WWE get released, but for many, none stung as much as the release of Zack Ryder. For 15 years, Zack Ryder has been a part of WWE’s fabric, the perennial underdog who had to fight to reinvent himself, seemingly because his employer (i.e. Vince McMahon) didn’t want Ryder to get too successful. Zack Ryder was arguably the first pro wrestler to fully integrate with the use of Social Media, utilizing YouTube to create Z! True Long Island Story in 2011. Ryder became a viral sensation, and the “Internet Champion” saw his popularity explode in WWE arenas around the world. But now, Zack Ryder is no more. But the man behind Zack Ryder, Matt Cardona, has managed to capitalize on Social Media once again to his own advantage.

#StillHere to #NotThere to #1: Zack Ryder Rules PWTs

#StillHere…

For months, Zack Ryder and his long-time on-again-off-again tag partner Curt Hawkins would poke fun at their lack of television time by reminding people in their posts on Twitter and Instagram that they were #StillHere. Both were frequently rumored to be on the chopping block, and every time they had a dry spell from television (which had been more and more frequent since losing their Raw Tag Team titles last year), they would end their posts with #StillHere

#StillHere took on a life of its own with Ryder’s loyal fanbase, an inside joke that both poked fun at his absence, but also seemed like a poke to his bosses that he and Hawkins were still very much ready to be used on TV in some capacity.

#NotThere…

And then, after months of joking he was #StillHere, suddenly Zack Ryder discovered he wouldn’t be anymore. Zack Ryder – alongside Curt Hawkins – were casualties in WWE’s Black Wednesday that saw over 30 WWE employees, from wrestlers to producers to writers, released from the company due to business concerns over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon after news of his release was out, he took to Twitter.

But while his other standard, #AlwayzReady, remained in his post, his usual #StillThere was not. Instead, as many fans noticed, it had changed to a far more heartbreaking one. #NotThere

For the first time since February of 2006, Matt Cardona was no longer an employee of the WWE. A 2x WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, and WWE United States Champion, an Edgehead, an Internet Champion, and obsessive collector of action figures. And one of the most beloved WWE Superstars never to achieve the main event of WrestleMania. He was no longer Zack Ryder. He was now simply Matt Cardona once again.

#1…

But Matt Cardona didn’t sit on his laurels or feel sorry for himself. By Wednesday evening, he had opened a store with Pro Wrestling Tees and released his first non-WWE shirt, which simply said “Not There”.

By early afternoon the next day, PWT’s Ryan Barkan announced the news. Cardona’s ‘Not There’ shirt was the #1 selling T-Shirt of the day.

Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.

Jamie Greer

Jamie Greer

Jamie Greer joined LWOPW in 2015 and was the site's Managing Editor from 2016 through 2020. After handing over ME duties to Alex Richards, he remains a frequent contributor to the site. He's also written for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, WrestleZone, The Windsor Star, and other publications. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and son.

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