FOR MOST WRESTLERS, a full-time deal with WWE or AEW is the be-all, end-all. There’s no denying the appeal of the financial security and visibility that comes with a TV contract. These are the stages, we’ve been told, where dreams come true.
Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander are both ex-WWE talents seeking their pound of flesh. Cardona, as “Long Island Iced Z” Zack Ryder, was a cult favorite and a former Intercontinental champion. As Persia Pirotta, Melbourne native De Lander was a popular presence on weekly NXT broadcasts, until WWE brass began making budget cuts. The tenor and tenure of those respective runs with the industry leader were quite different. Yet, there is such chemistry between the two performers—who share a passion for hard work, self-promotion, and doing things on their own terms—it’s hard to believe they’ve only been a professional duo for a few months.
Amidst international travel and bookings at major independent promotions including Game Changer Wrestling, House of Glory, and elsewhere, Cardona and De Lander took time to pose for the cover of this magazine … and chat with PWI Editor Kevin McElvaney about no-holds-barred matches, side hustles, and the legacy of the WWF’s Outback Jack.
McElvaney: I’m here with the “Death Match King & Queen.” That’s a controversial phrase among some fans. Some people will look at it as if you’re antagonizing, even trolling them a bit. The results speak for themselves: Since you started teaming together a few months ago, wins over Los Macizos, The Kirks just recently. What are your thoughts coming out of those matches? Is this something you’re gonna keep doing, this line of deathmatch wrestling and going further down that path? Or have you already proven your point there?
Well, first of all, I don’t know what the controversy is all about. I am the “Death Match King.” I dethroned the former king, Nick Gage, in the most talked-about, most-viewed deathmatch in wrestling history when I beat him at GCW Homecoming two years ago. And I’ve been the king ever since I retired from deathmatch wrestling. I beat the champ, I went out on top. I needed a queen. Found SDL. We look great in our matching crowns. The dynamic we have is unlike any other duo in wrestling. I could wrestle someone on the show, Steph could wrestle someone on
