Former WWE star shares insane Royal Rumble story

A former WWE Superstar recently shared a good Royal Rumble story from 2015, wherein he was a surprise entrant.

With the 2024 Royal Rumble less than two weeks away in Florida, more stories about previous events will continue to pop out. Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder, has a crazy tale about his final Rumble appearance in 2015 in Philadelphia.

On the latest episode of The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, Cardona discussed his surprise entry in the 2015 Royal Rumble with Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) and AEW’s Mark Sterling. He was coming off a rotator cuff injury and planned his return with Finlay, who was a producer at the time.

“Long story short, it’s f*cking Philadelphia,”Cardona said. “I haven’t been on TV for a while. It’s right after the YouTube run. I’m just regular jabroni Zack Ryder, but I get my return at the Royal Rumble. Huge pop in Philly. I go out, me and Bray [Wyatt] f*cking like doing The Rock f*cking [Steve] Austin brawl. Eventually, I get thrown out.”

The Indy God continued:

“I’m thinking like, ‘F*ck, the pop was so f*cking big, they got to use me on RAW.’ The pop was huge, undeniable pop. What happens? Snowstorm, RAW’s canceled.”[From 01:15 to 01:45]

The 2015 Royal Rumble was won by Roman Reigns, who was starting to get pushed at the time. However, fans turned him at the event quickly despite an endorsement from The Rock in the end. It’s crazier that Reigns and Rock mightfaceg each other nine years later.

As for the WWE RAW episode that got postponed, it was the January 26, 2015 edition in Hartford, Connecticut, and it was due to a huge snowstorm. Matt Cardona never received another big push following his Royal Rumble appearance and was released from his contract on April 15, 2020.

Will Matt Cardona return to WWE at Royal Rumble?

In an interview on Insight with Chris VanVliet last December, Matt Cardona opened up about the possibility of being a surprise entrant at the 2024 Royal Rumble match.

Cardona is open to returning to WWE, where his wife, Chelsea Green, currently works, but he’s booked for Chris Jericho’s annual cruise.

“I’m always ready, right, and I really believe that if number whatever and my music hit, whether it would be Matt Cardona or Zack Ryder, I do believe the place will go nuts. I honestly believe that. So, we will see. I’m always ready, but currently, I’m booked for the Jericho Cruise. So, they’ve got to decide quick.”[From 49:03 – 49:40]

The 2024 Royal Rumble is on January 27 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. It has a start time of 8:00 PM ET and will streamed exclusively on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network for the rest of the world.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you for a potential surprise appearance of Matt Cardona at the Royal Rumble? Share your answers in the comments section below.