Why Zack Ryder Wasn’t Bothered By Haters After WWE Return
Zack Ryder has a good reason for ignoring the haters after his WWE return.
The Last Time Is Now Tournament featured 16 wrestlers competing to find out who will face John Cena in his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13th.
On the November 14th edition of WWE SmackDown, LA Knight faced a mystery opponent who turned out to be Zack Ryder, making his WWE return after being released over 5 years earlier.
Even though Ryder has wrestled using his real name, Matt Cardona, for the last five years, he rocked the ZR look one more time just like during his decade-plus on the WWE main roster. Knight got the win, but Ryder looked good in defeat, and the fans cheered his return.
While Zack Ryder didn’t sign a new WWE contract, he did sign a contract that allows the company to sell Zack Ryder merchandise.
Most WWE fans were happy to see Ryder back, but there are still haters out there. During an interview with the Notsam Wrestling podcast with Sam Roberts, Ryder made it clear that the negative people aren’t real fans anyway.
“I’ve seen the comments on social media. ‘I thought Zack Ryder was dead.’ Anybody who is commenting like that, it doesn’t bother me because they are not a real fan.
If anyone is a fan of Zack Ryder, Matt Cardona, whatever you want to call me, they got it and they were happy for me and the moment. Anybody who is bitching, moaning, and complaining, it doesn’t matter because they’re not a fan.”
“I’m Very Grateful For The Opportunity I Was Given” – Zack Ryder
One week after his WWE return, Zack Ryder posted on social media about his comeback and why it meant so much to him.
It’s been 1 week since I showed up on SmackDown. I think I have milked the appearance as much as I can…haha. This business moves so fast. It doesn’t care what you did last week. What are you doing now…what are you doing NEXT?!
I’m very grateful for the opportunity I was given last week. Thank you
@wwe. But most importantly, I have to thank the fans. You all caused the Ryder Revolution in 2011. In 2025, you caused the Ryder Resurrection!It’s unknown what’s next for Zack Ryder…but I am ALWAYZ READY. Woo Woo Woo…You Know It!
(Buy my shirts on @wweshop 😉)
It’s been 1 week since I showed up on SmackDown. I think I have milked the appearance as much as I can…haha. This business moves so fast. It doesn’t care what you did last week. What are you doing now…what are you doing NEXT?!
I’m very grateful for the opportunity I was given… pic.twitter.com/NqJicbux4I
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) November 21, 2025