Major Players facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Major Players
Ryder (left) and Hawkins (right) at WrestleMania Axxess in 2009
Tag team
Members	Curt Hawkins / Brian Major(s) / Brian Myers Zack Ryder / Brett Major(s) / Brett Matthews / Matt Cardona
Name(s)	Brian Myers and Brett Matthews Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder La Familia Major Brothers Major Players Majors Brothers
Billed heights	Curt Hawkins: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Zack Ryder: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Combined billed weight	447 lb (203 kg)
Billed from	Long Island, New York
Former member(s)	Chelsea Green
Debut	August 2004
Years active	2004–2009 2019–2020 2022–present
Trainer	Mikey Whipwreck Deep South Wrestling

The Major Players are a famous professional wrestling tag team. This team includes two wrestlers: Brian Myers and Matt Cardona. They are most known for their time in WWE. There, they wrestled as Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. They won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship two times. Myers and Cardona also wrestled for Impact Wrestling. In Impact Wrestling, they both held the Impact Digital Media Championship.

The team started wrestling in 2004. They debuted in New York Wrestling Connection. Back then, they were known as Brian Myers and Brett Matthews. After joining WWE, they mostly wrestled as a team. They first appeared on WWE's main shows in 2007. This was on the ECW brand. They were called The Major Brothers. Later that year, they changed their names to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. They joined a group called La Familia with Edge on the SmackDown brand. They were sometimes called "The Edgeheads". Hawkins and Ryder stayed with Edge until April 2009. The team split when Ryder moved to the ECW brand. After this, they wrestled together only sometimes. They officially reunited almost 10 years later in January 2019. They won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019.

The Major Players: A Wrestling Journey

Early Days in Wrestling

Brian Myers and Matthew Cardona started wrestling together in 2004. This was in New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC). Matthew Cardona used the name Brett Matthews. Brian Myers used his real name. On May 21, 2005, they wrestled the NYWC Tag Team Champions. They won a rematch on June 4, becoming Tag Team Champions. They defended their titles in July. But on August 27, they lost the titles. On January 25, 2006, they won the titles for a second time. They held these titles until March 26.

Joining WWE: Developmental Years

Training in Deep South Wrestling

In 2006, Brett Matthews and Brian Myers joined Deep South Wrestling (DSW). This was a training territory for WWE. They changed their names to Brett and Brian Majors. They were known as The Majors Brothers. They won their first matches on June 15. After several wins, they got a match for the DSW Tag Team Championship. On October 12, they became the new champions.

As champions, other teams wanted to challenge them. They lost their titles on November 30. The DSW Tag Team Championship later became vacant. On January 19, 2007, The Majors Brothers won the titles again. This made them two-time champions. They lost the championships on March 8. The Majors stayed in DSW until April.

Moving to Ohio Valley Wrestling

The Major Brothers then moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). This was another WWE training territory. They debuted as a team on May 9. They won their first match there. After more wins, they faced the OVW Southern Tag Team Champions. On June 15, they won the OVW Tag Team Championship.

They lost the titles on June 29. Their rematch ended in a tie. They continued to wrestle in OVW. They entered a tournament for the Southern Tag Team Championship. They won several rounds. However, they lost in the final match.

WWE Main Roster Debut

Becoming Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder

The Major Brothers first appeared on WWE television on May 1, 2007. This was on ECW on Sci Fi. They won their first match. But this was their only win in ECW. They then moved to SmackDown! on June 17, 2007. On July 6, they won their SmackDown! debut match. They won again the next week. On November 9, 2007, they got a match for the tag team titles. But they did not win.

Hawkins and Ryder posing with Edge before a match

At Armageddon in December 2007, the Major Brothers helped Edge win a championship. They dressed like Edge and took hits for him. This made them "bad guys" in wrestling. On December 21, 2007, they were revealed as friends of Edge. They also became friends with SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. The Major Brothers changed their names. Brett Major became "Zack Ryder". Brian Major became "Curt Hawkins". They were part of Edge's group, "La Familia". They often wrestled with Edge or Chavo Guerrero Jr.. They were sometimes called "The Rated-R Entourage". They also changed their wrestling gear to look more like Edge.

Tag Team Champions and Split

At The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, Hawkins and Ryder won the WWE Tag Team Championship. They won in a four-team match. This made them the youngest tag team champions in WWE history. At SummerSlam, the La Familia group seemed to end. On September 26, 2008, Hawkins and Ryder lost their titles. They lost to Carlito and Primo Colón. On April 15, 2009, Ryder moved to the ECW brand. This split the team.

Reunions and Reformation

Brief Reunions (2011, 2016, 2018)

Hawkins and Ryder teamed up briefly in 2011. Hawkins helped Ryder win a match on Superstars. They wrestled one more match together. But they did not fully reunite then.

They also had a short reunion in 2016. This was with their former leader Edge. They were seen talking backstage. In 2018, Hawkins and Ryder started a WWE Network show. It was called "Zack and Curt Figure It Out". On November 14, 2018, they teamed up again in a match.

Official Reformation (2019–2020)

Before their official reunion, both Hawkins and Ryder were not winning many matches. Hawkins had lost over 200 matches in a row. Ryder had not been on WWE TV much in 2018. On January 21, 2019, Ryder helped Hawkins. This hinted at them getting back together. On January 28, they officially reunited. They wrestled as a team again.

On April 5, WWE announced they would wrestle for the Raw Tag Team Championship. This match was at WrestleMania 35. At the event, they won the Raw Tag Team Championships! This ended Hawkins' long losing streak. The next night, they defended their titles successfully. They also defended them again at The Shield's Final Chapter event. After this, they were not on TV very often. They mostly appeared at live events. On June 10, 2019, Hawkins and Ryder lost the titles. They lost to The Revival in a three-team match.

On April 15, 2020, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were released from WWE. This was due to budget cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After WWE: Independent Circuit and Impact Wrestling

Independent Circuit (2022–present)

In 2022, Myers and Cardona reunited as "The Major Players". This was at a Game Changer Wrestling event. They wrestled with Chelsea Green.

Impact Wrestling (2022–2023)

On April 15, 2022, Myers, Cardona, and Green attacked W. Morrissey on Impact Wrestling. Later, Green attacked Mickie James with their help.

Other Media

The Major Pod Network
YouTube information
Pseudonym	The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast
Years active	2018–present
Genre	Action figures
Subscribers	111 thousand
Total views	18.7 million
Subscriber and view counts updated as of October 24, 2024.

On August 23, 2018, Cardona and Myers started a podcast. It is called The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast. In the podcast, they talk about collecting wrestling figures. They also discuss other wrestling topics.

Championships and Achievements

The Major Players and its members have won many championships:

• Game Changer Wrestling
  • GCW World Championship (1 time) – Cardona
• Absolute Intense Wrestling
  • AIW Absolute Championship (1 time) – Cardona
  • AIW Intense Championship (1 time) – Cardona
• DDT Pro Wrestling
  • DDT Universal Championship (1 time) – Cardona
• All Star Wrestling
  • ASW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Cardona
• Deep South Wrestling
  • DSW Tag Team Championship (2 times)
• Impact Wrestling
  • Impact Digital Media Championship (2 times) – Cardona (1), Myers (1)
  • Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Green with Deonna Purrazzo
• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Cardona
• New York Wrestling Connection
  • NYWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Cardona
  • NYWC Tag Team Championship (2 times)
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• The Wrestling Showcase
  • Wrestling Showcase Championship (1 time, inaugural, current) – Cardona
  • Wrestling Showcase Title Tournament (2022)– Cardona
• Premier Wrestling Federation - New Jersey
  • PWF New Jersey Tag Team Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
  • WWE (Raw) Tag Team Championship (2 times)
• Other titles
  • Internet Championship (3 times, inaugural, current) - Cardona

See also

In Spanish: Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder para niños