Matt Cardona, under his Zack Ryder persona was LA Knight’s mystery opponent in the Last Time Is Now Tournament on Friday Night SmackDown. Ryder would come up short against Knight, who advances in the tournament.
In a video posted by WWE, Cardona (Ryder) reflected on his return.
“Five years. It’s been five years since I put on Zack Ryder boots. Every single morning, the first thing I do before I even open my damn eyes, I say how can I get back here? What do I have to do to get back here? I busted my a– for the past five years, Death Match King, Indie God, The Complete, all for this moment. This might be a one time shot, I might get the call tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter because I’m Zack Ryder and I’m always ready. And I guess I can say this: Woo woo woo, you know it.”
During the video, Knight entered in, shaking Ryder’s hand, telling him, “I don’t know if this is a welcome back or if this is a see you later but all I can say is, Yeah!“
Cardona also took to X, commenting on his return.
New Zack Ryder merchandise is now available at WWEShop.com.
The USA Network also took to X, commenting on the return of Ryder.
Cardona also took photos backstage with WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and his real-life wife, current WWE Women’s US Champion Chelsea Green.
Photos are below.
WWE released Cardona in April 2020, after he had been with the company for 15 years, first signing his initial deal in 2005. He is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion, former WWE United States Champion and and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion, having held the titles with Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers in TNA Wrestling).