Matt Cardona Explains Why He Is Responsible For AEW

Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder during his decade-plus tenure with WWE, was once one of the most popular WWE stars — with much of his fan support stemming from his YouTube channel and show. In a recent interview with "Notsam Wrestling," Cardona revealed which title from those early days that he always carries around with him. In addition, he explained how he is somehow responsible for the creation of WWE's biggest competition, AEW.

"Internet [Title] always comes; it's the most prestigious title in wrestling," Cardona said while making his appearance. "It changed the business. Tell me that 'Z True Long Island Story' didn't change the business ... All these kids vlogging about BTE, you know, that started AEW. So, really, I'm responsible for AEW ... Without 'Z True Long Island Story' there would be no BTE and there would be no AEW."

Cardona created the Internet Championship back when he had his YouTube channel rolling prior to others seeing the true value of the platform. Cardona used this to work his way up to the United States Championship in late 2011 and saw the show as serving many different purposes, one of which was interacting with WWE fans across the world.

BTE, which stands for Being The Elite, is a YouTube channel featuring members of The Elite, such as Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, the Young Bucks, and Cody Rhodes — all of whom have played major roles in the series over the years. BTE gained a massive amount of popularity a few years after Cardona embarked on his video project.

BTE has not posted a new video in over a month and remains on hiatus following the infamous post-All Out backstage incident. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Notsam Wrestling" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.