Matt Cardona signs with WWE, appears on Smackdown

Matt Cardona has re-signed with WWE and will be using his real name moving forward instead of the Zack Ryder name which the company owns.

Cardona was the surprise opponent of Kit Wilson on last night’s Smackdown and first entered to his Ryder theme song before it switched, with the video screen showing Matt Cardona and the ring announcer introducing him under his real name.

Cardona, as Ryder, appeared in The Last Time Is Now tournament last year also as a surprise entry and through his TNA deal appeared a couple of times on NXT as well.

“A lesson to learn for everyone going into 2026: Stay Ready,” wrote Triple H on X. “Congrats and welcome back home @TheMattCardona.”

The 40-year-old, who is married to Chelsea Green, had a 15-year stint with WWE between 2005 and 2020 and then went on to become the self-proclaimed king of the indies, reinventing himself in the process. He spent the last year working with TNA Wrestling.