Former Zack Ryder made his Impact Wrestling debut on tonight’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view.
In a fight that was not announced in advance, Matt Cardona faced Ace Austin at Hard to Kill. Cardona won by disqualification when Madman Fulton stepped in to save Austin. Cardona fought against Fulton and stood up after beating Radio Silence.
Cardona tweeted after making his debut on Impact: “I needed tonight. Thanks @ScottDAmore for the opportunity. Thanks @IMPACTWRESTLING. Thanks to all my fans!
Austin, who won Impact’s Super X-Cup at Genesis earlier this month, went to the ring on tonight’s PPV and made a promo demanding to be added to the Manik vs. Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey X-Division Championship match. Scott D’Amore said he would give Austin another game, then introduced Cardona as his opponent.
Cardona was launched by WWE during the company’s list cuts last April. He had a short stint on AEW after his WWE release, including teaming up with Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall and Scorpio Sky in an eight-man fight against The Dark Order at All Out in September.
Cardona hosts the Major Wrestling Figure podcast with his friend and former tag team partner Brian Myers (formerly known as Curt Hawkins in WWE). Myers recently signed a contract with Impact Wrestling. After being released by WWE in April, Myers returned to Impact in July. Myers defeated Josh Alexander in tonight’s Hard to Kill pre-show.