Coming to the ring to save his best friend Cody, Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) debuted on AEW Dynamite. Is he signed with AEW? It appears so.
Cody took on Warhorse in a TNT Championship match early in the show on Wednesday. The American Nightmare was able to overcome his opponent and secure the win with a figure-four leg lock, but after the match, members of the Dark Order stormed the ring and attacked.
At first, it appeared they were going after anything that moved. What they were really doing was clearing the ring of Warhorse and taking aim at Cody. When Cody's advisor Anr Anderson took to the ring and Dark Order set their sites on the Enforcer, that's when Cardona came down to make the save.
The announcers noted Cardona was lifelong friends with Cody and they used to ride up and down the road together. After Cordona dispatched of the Dark Order, he stood arm-in-arm with Cody outside the ring.
AEW then promoted the appearance on social media saying Strong Island was representing on Wednesday night.
Is Cardona Officially AEW?
AEW did not reveal if Cardona was officially part of the AEW roster, but he has already posted he's got merchandise for sale with the company.
Over the next couple of weeks, it will be interesting to see how the storyline proceeds. Will Cardona side with Cody? Will he turn on him? Is Cardona pegged for The Elite or is Cody going to separate from the group and stick with his friend who is coming over from WWE?
One thing is for sure, Cardona was influential in getting WWE to focus on social media and his promotional awareness will be a big plus for the AEW brand.