MTV’s Godfather of reality television Mark Long is getting ready to rumble in the ring with an upcoming professional wrestling match.
Long, 51, will battle former WWE star Matt Cardona as part of an event for Boca Raton Championship Wrestling out of Florida.
The Challenge star is no stranger to pro wrestling as he’s previously teased a rivalry with WWE’s Sheamus and also showed up in the WWE’s NXT alongside Grayson Waller.
However, Long’s upcoming match came about during a segment that featured a ceremony to present him with the BRCW All Star Championship belt.
With Long dressed in a suit in the ring, one of the other men in the ring for the presentation received a call on his phone.
Cardona appeared on a big screen to interrupt the ceremony and called out Long, even bringing up his show The Challenge during his promo.
Former WWE star Matt Cardona called out The Challenge’s Mark Long
In a video shared on Twitter this past week, BRCW Florida showed the incident that occurred while The Challenge star received his All Star Championship belt. Cardona decided to seize the opportunity to try to add another wrestling belt to his collection.
“Mark Long, huh? How fitting because you probably are a mark,” Cardona said, referring to a term for a wrestling fan that “buys into the emotion and characteristics of the storyline and characters.”
“You’re from The Challenge, huh? Well, I’ve got a challenge for you. How bout this? May 7th, you put that participation trophy on the line against me- the death match king, the indie God, the internet champion, the belt collector, always ready, Matt Cardona,” he said to Long.
Cardona also brought up a mutual friend, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, who got his start with MTV’s The Real World and The Challenge. Cardona mentioned how Long’s friend, The Miz appeared as part of his wedding party, not Long’s.
“This is the true story of how I’m gonna kick your f***ing a** and send you back to VH1. See ya later, Mark,” Cardona said as he finished his promo.
After Cardona was done, Long called it “bull***t” on the microphone and responded to Cardona’s match suggestion.
“You tell Matt, or Zack Ryder, or Meatball, or whatever his name is, in May, challenge accepted,” Long said as he looked into a nearby camera recording the event.
Mark Long was previously involved in WWE segments
Monsters and Critics previously reported that Long feuded with WWE’s Sheamus a bit, including an exchange during a live WWE event that spilled over to social media. Not much came from it beyond some trash-talking back and forth.
Long was seen at several events in support of his good friend The Miz, who is currently working with WWE and even suggested Long was ready to wrestle there. In addition, Long popped up to support another friend, NXT’s Grayson Waller, and was part of a backstage interview Waller did of a match.
Long, who most recently appeared in The Challenge: All Stars 3 spinoff on Paramount Plus, is currently listed among the talent on BCRW’s roster.
Cardona, 37, worked in WWE as Zack Ryder from 2006 through 2020. During that time, he was a two-time tag team champion. He also won the United States Championship and Intercontinental Championship.
Following his release from WWE in 2020, Cardona worked with All Elite Wrestling in a limited contract situation before moving to Impact Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). His wife, Chelsea Green, currently works with WWE.
As mentioned, Cardona and Long’s match is scheduled for the BRCW Challenge Accepted event on May 7, with further event details to arrive at BRCW’s website.
The Challenge: World Championship episodes arrive Wednesdays on Paramount Plus.