Following a one-off appearance in 2025, Matt Cardona made his full-time return to WWE the following year.
Revealed to be one of the surprise names in the tournament to determine John Cena’s final opponent, Cardona returned as Zack Ryder in a losing effort to LA Knight. On the first SmackDown of 2026, Cardona returned under his real name to pick up a win over Kit Wilson.
While the former Zack Ryder did compete multiple times on NXT prior to this, the Wilson match was his official return to the company. On top of the return in of itself, many were surprised to see Cardona be announced with his non-WWE name as opposed to Zack Ryder.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Cardona recalled a conversation between his wife Chelsea Green and WWE President Nick Khan that set the wheels in motion:
“So I did the [TNA] invasion [on NXT], which led to a match with Josh Briggs, and I said, all right, that’s cool. I texted Triple H, thank you for the opportunity. He texted back. It was all good. Shortly thereafter, maybe within that week, Chelsea was in Saudi Arabia doing media for the Royal Rumble, and she was there with Nick Khan and said something to the effect, like, ‘Did you see my husband on NXT?’ He said something like, ‘I’ve never met him. Give him my number.’ So she did. I called him or texted him immediately. ‘Hey, it’s Matt Cardona, blah blah blah.’ I think it’s that day or the next day he calls me, and he’s very straight into the point, which I love and respect. He said, ‘What do you want?’ I want to come back. It was as simple as that. He’s like, ‘Okay, well, we need to set up a call with you and Triple H.'”
Cardona went on to say that while he did appreciate the call, he knew that there was no return offer at this point.
Continuing, Cardona got the call to be in the Cena tournament, but was told that he would be Zack Ryder. The former Intercontinental Champion admitted coming back as Ryder was not ideal, as he needed new gear made on short notice:
“A couple of weeks go by, and he texted me, ‘Hey, do you have time to talk today?’ I’m like, yep, and that’s when he pitched me the Cena tournament thing. I said I’m in, and I’m assuming that I’m going to do this representing TNA as Matt Cardona. So SmackDown films Fridays. You fly out Thursdays. Tuesday of that week, I get a text from John Cone from WWE Talent Relations, and he’s like, ‘Hey, we got some T-shirts for you to approve.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s cool, but how do you guys have my Matt Cardona logos?’ It’s like, oh no, you’re Zack Ryder. I’m thinking, oh f*ck. Not that I don’t want to be Zack Ryder. I don’t have any gear, because what am I gonna wear? Everything else I sold off, so everything that I had was either one-off, like WrestleMania title wing gear or stuff that was all falling apart because it’s years old. I’m like, oh no, luckily always ready. Got gear made in 24 hours, and then did the Cena tournament as Zack Ryder.”
When Matt Cardona Signed WWE Contract
Cardona then detailed how the call came to be back in WWE full-time. The former Tag Team Champion recalled getting the call around Thanksgiving time, and how he was happy that the company saw more in the Cardona name than Zack Ryder:
“Okay, so then I think it’s a one-off. I get the Triple H point, which is great. I sold some eight by 10s with that. Thank you, Triple H. He’s like, we’ll keep in touch, and they did. About a few weeks later, I was at Wrestlecade, so I guess after Thanksgiving, I’m eating dinner with the boys after signing all day and a match, and I got a call like we wanna we wanna sign you. I’m thinking okay, I’m just assuming it’s as Zack Ryder, so I get all this new Zack Ryder gear made blah blah blah blah. Then a week or so before my debut I hear through the grapevine you’re gonna be Matt Cardona. Now I’m like oh sh*t I need new Matt Cardona gear. But I am very proud that they thought there was more value in Matt Cardona than Zack Ryder.”
Featured image: WWE
