While reflecting on comments made by Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens about his independent wrestling run, the current SmackDown star admitted the jokes struck a nerve, even if he understood there was no bad intent behind them. The discussion centered around a 2025 episode of Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, where Owens joked that Cardona couldn’t call himself the “King of the Indies” while frequently talking about wanting to return to WWE. (What Do You Wanna Talk About? Despite feeling misrepresented, Cardona stressed that he never believed Rhodes or Owens were trying to take a personal shot at him.