Vince Russo Breaks Silence On Matt Cardona Leaving JCW As Champion For WWE

Former WCW and TNA booker and controversial wrestling personality Vince Russo lost his top champion to the big leagues.

Russo is an investor and the new creative head for Juggalo Championship Wrestling. JCW is a small promotion that hosts shows around the Midwest, but is primarily based in Michigan.

Small independent promotions booking former WWE, AEW, or TNA stars as champions come with risks and rewards. The reward is that the promotion benefits from having someone with a big brand and substantial name value as its top champion. It's good for publicity and establishes credibility across the wrestling landscape.

The risk is that champion being able to leave back to a top promotion at any moment. The opportunity to wrestle for one of the major promotions on TV is hard to pass up over being the top champion of any independent promotion, and bookers like Russo are forced to pivot quickly when this happens.

Russo reacts to JCW Champion Matt Cardona returning to WWE

Vince Russo took to X to discuss the signing and noted that he fully understood the risks involved in signing any former WWE superstar.

“Does anybody really believe that you don’t know the risk involved when you put your belt on a former @WWE WRESTLER? That you don’t understand that he/she could return to the company at any time? Of course you do, but like anything else you weigh the risk vs. the reward."
Vince Russo on X

"Of course you do, but like anything else you weigh the risk vs. the reward. Even if is Champion for just a day, that’s a huge win for the company based on WHO MATT IS. That’s the REWARD," Russo added.

Does anybody really believe that you don’t know the risk involved when you put your belt on a former @WWE WRESTLER? That you don’t understand that he/she could return to the company at any time?

Of course you do, but like anything else you weigh the risk vs. the reward. Even if…
— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) January 5, 2026

The promotion recently introduced a new design for their world championship, and Russo and owner Violent J of Insane Clown Posse will now look to put their top championship on a different JCW wrestler.

Russo also reflected on Cardona's short time as JCW's top champion. Cardona won the championship on Halloween earlier this year, defeating 2 Tuff Toney at JCW's Hallowicked show.

Cardona's reign was a win in Russo's book

Russo feels Cardona's reign was worth every second. While explaining why he isn't bitter about Cardona's departure to WWE, he called a pro wrestling championship a "prop."

"Even if @TheMattCardona is @jcwlunacy Champion for just a day, that’s a huge win for the company based on WHO MATT IS. That’s the REWARD. The RISK? He goes back to the @WWE so you put the belt on somebody else. PROP—-REMEMBER? NOT REAL. So, I’m supposed to be 'mad' about that?"
Vince Russo

Russo proceeded to emphasize how excited he is to crown a new JCW Champion. After Russo was announced as a talent, investor, and creative for JCW, their weekly show called "Lunacy" reportedly saw an uptick in viewership. Cardona's reign only piled onto the success. JCW airs Lunacy every Thursday on Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube at 7:00 pm Eastern Time.

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