Matt Cardona faces criticism over comments about Gunther on SmackDown

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Mrs. and Mr. Green give Gunther (off-screen) the stink eye. | (Photo: WWE.com) I expect delusional thinking from someone like The Miz, a smarmy chickenshit heel. But Matt Cardona, a supposed babyface and husband of WWE (Interim) Women’s Champion Chelsea Green? Bad look, guy. On Monday, Cardona posted a series of pics, highlighting his best moments against Gunther on SmackDown: a low blow and a Rough Ryder. The caption of his post read, “Close, but no cigar…and I love cigars.” Close, but no cigar…and I love cigars. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/FmWhxuMcRg — Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) August 16, 2026 Close? Close!? CLOSE!?!? Cardona might be smoking something, but I question if it’s a cigar. Y’all saw what I saw: Gunther wiped the mat with ol’ Zack Ryder. Close? Dude scored a nut shot — as if that’s something to be proud of — only after his wife distracted the referee. As most of our math teachers taught us, two negatives don’t add up to a positive. Admittedly, I’ve given Cardona the benefit of the doubt. Even though his current run in WWE isn’t all that different from his last, he sounds somewhat believable when he says his goal is still to win the WWE Championship. But after his latest shellacking from Gunther, which he later thanked “The Ring General” for, and now this, I’m convinced this guy’s whole gimmick is based on delusion. Great for a heel, not so much for a babyface. And unless this is leading to a money match between Gunther and the Women’s (Interim) champ, it’s all the more reason to keep whatever Mr. Chelsea Green’s got going on away from the family breadwinner, lest her momentum go the way of “Long Island Iced Z,” circa 2012.