Matt Cardona has a blunt message for wrestlers frustrated about failing to connect with fans: look inward. In a post on social media, Cardona argued that in the current era, performers have unprecedented ability to build their own following and that a lack of connection with the audience falls on them rather than on the promotion or the fans themselves.
Cardona was among the first pro wrestlers to lean heavily into social media as a tool for building a personal brand and audience outside of traditional television exposure. In 2011, while still working under the Zack Ryder name in WWE, he launched a YouTube series called “Z! True Long Island Story,” which became a key part of how he grew his popularity with fans during that stretch of his career.
Referencing that history, Cardona framed getting over as something largely within a wrestler’s own hands given the tools now available. “If you’re a pro wrestler and you’re not over, it’s your fault,” Cardona wrote, according to Fightful.
The comments arrive as a broader talking point about how independent-minded self-promotion, social media presence and direct fan engagement can shape a wrestler’s standing, a philosophy Cardona has built much of his own career around since his early YouTube days.
