Matt Cardona Reveals When WWE Reached Out About Comeback

Matt Cardona (FKA Zack Ryder) made a shocking return to WWE under his real name on the January 2nd episode of SmackDown. He faced Kit Wilson in a match and defeated him after delivering his Rough Ryder finisher in front of an ecstatic crowd.

WWE released Matt Cardona in April 2020 and has been working in the independent circuit since. Despite this, he was certain of returning to the Stamford-based promotion at some point in the future.

His moment arrived in 2025 when he wrestled a match with LA Knight on a November episode of SmackDown, where he was shockingly revealed to be Knight’s mystery opponent. The bout was part of The Last Time Is Now Tournament, which was held to determine who John Cena’s final opponent would be before the WWE Icon retired.

Matt Cardona Talks About WWE Reaching Out To Him

Speaking to Notsam Wrestling, Cardona explained that although he was delusional enough to feel that a return to WWE was on the cards ever since his release, the talks really began after the one-off match with LA Knight.

I mean, for me in my delusional head, it’s been in the works since I got fired, but I guess the reality is… also, I don’t even know if this is legit, but since the SmackDown thing with LA Knight.

It was like ‘Alright, we’ll be in touch,’ I was like ‘Okay.’ And then they were in touch.

It was a few weeks. It was like WrestleCade weekend at the end of November, that’s when I got the call like ‘Okay, we’re interested, let’s start talking’.

h/t:wrestletalk.com

Also read: Killer Kross On Ex-WWE Champion: “I Despise Him As A Human Being.”