{"schema":"hottub-news/story/v1","story":"st_4ri3qjomznvrfydpkoza","title":"Matt Cardona: 'I Made More Money Outside WWE Than I Ever Made In WWE. I Technically Took A Pay Cut To Go Back To WWE'","title_en":null,"outlets":2,"brief":null,"page":"https://hottub.news/stories/matt-cardona-reveals-he-took-a-pay-cut-to-return-to-wwe-4ri3qjomzn","count":2,"items":[{"id":"n_3zuban4ppnle7lgrxf6a","seq":1579042,"kind":"article","title":"Matt Cardona: 'I Made More Money Outside WWE Than I Ever Made In WWE. I Technically Took A Pay Cut To Go Back To WWE'","url":"https://www.fightful.com/wrestling-news/matt-cardona-i-made-more-money-outside-wwe-than-i-ever-made-in-wwe-i-technically-took-a-pay-cut-to-go-back-to-wwe","summary":"Matt Cardona says he took a pay cut coming back to WWE from the indies. After getting his release from WWE back in 2020, Matt Cardona (then known as Zack Ryder) made a name for himself in the indies. He returned to WWE last year as a TNA talent, and eventually signed with the promotion…","published":"2026-10-03T18:44:29Z","seen":"2026-10-03T19:36:39Z","lang":"en","source":{"id":"kite-fightful-com-7f551c","name":"fightful.com","domain":"fightful.com"},"via":"kite-fightful-com-7f551c","topics":["mma","professional-wrestling"],"entities":[{"id":"Q139880","name":"Matt Cardona","type":"person"}],"image":"https://d1fcaprh3kb5t7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/28095735/intro-1775001259.jpg?v=20261003184429","story":"st_4ri3qjomznvrfydpkoza","category":"economy-business","category_p":0.3199999928474426,"category2":"arts-culture-entertainment","sentiment":"neutral","tone":0.15000000596046448,"political":0.019999999552965164},{"id":"n_4ri3qjomznvrfydpkoza","seq":1576409,"kind":"article","title":"Matt Cardona Reveals He Took A Pay Cut To Return To WWE","url":"https://www.pwmania.com/matt-cardona-reveals-he-took-a-pay-cut-to-return-to-wwe","summary":"Matt Cardona has revealed that returning to WWE actually meant taking a pay cut after building a lucrative career for himself on the independent wrestling scene. Speaking with Jeremy Jacobowitz, the former Zack Ryder reflected on the approach he took following his initial WWE departure and why he was determined to reinvent himself rather than […]","published":"2026-10-03T18:38:44Z","seen":"2026-10-03T19:06:15Z","lang":"en","source":{"id":"kite-pwmania-com-cedf1d","name":"pwmania.com","domain":"pwmania.com"},"via":"kite-pwmania-com-cedf1d","topics":["professional-wrestling","wwe"],"authors":["Phil Johnson"],"entities":[{"id":"Q139880","name":"Matt Cardona","type":"person"}],"story":"st_4ri3qjomznvrfydpkoza","category":"economy-business","category_p":0.3499999940395355,"category2":"arts-culture-entertainment","sentiment":"neutral","tone":0.05999999865889549,"political":0.03999999910593033}]}