At the moment, Matt Cardona may be The King of The Deathmatches in GCW but long before that, he was simply known as Zack Ryder, host of Z! True Long Island Story, in WWE. Cardona’s popular YouTube series launched in February 2011 when he was still signed to the sports entertainment juggernaut, under the name Zack Ryder, of course. It featured Cardona giving fans a somewhat embellished version of his real life, including appearances from his real-life family members and friends.
The series concluded in 2013 after WWE began getting involved and took some of the fun out of it for Cardona, something he has spoken about many times since. However, it appears that after a decade of being on the shelf, the series is poised for a return. Earlier today, Cardona released a video on social media hyping the return of the series and noting his new sidekick, Steph De Lander, formerly Persia Pirotta in WWE NXT, will be along for the ride with him.
“Welcome everyone to Z! True Long Island Story. I am your host, the Internet Champion, Long Island Ice Z, Zack Ryder,” he began before yelling at Peralta off-screen, who was making out with a guy. “Hey, Persia, get a room!”
“Shut the f-ck up,” Pirotta fired back. “I’m trying to do my job!”
“You’re not the Broski the week” he responded. “You’re the Hoeski of the week!”
“Hoeeski of the week?!” she said incredulously. “I’m the Hoski of the week?! You’re the Hoeski of the week.”
“Are you serious?” he questioned. “Bro?”
“I am serious, bro,” she asserted before kicking Ryder in the groin and throwing him into a steel garage door.
“F-ck you,” she screamed before picking up his title and walking away with it. “I’m the Internet Champion. I’m starting my own YouTube channel.”
“No. No. No!” Ryder screamed. “Give me back my belt! Give me back my championship!”
“Come on you jobber!” she laughed. “I’m the real Internet Champ now!”
No formal relaunch date for the series was announced although it would appear Cardona and De Lander, as Ryder and Pirotta, going back and forth for the Internet Championship is poised to be a central focus.
If you use any quotes from this article please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling for the transcription
You can watch Ryder’s full announcement courtesy of Cardona’s tweet, embedded below.