Matt Cardona returned to WWE under the Zack Ryder name for the first time in 5 years, coming out as the surprise entrant in The Last Time Is Now tournament against LA Knight.

The crowd gave him a huge pop as soon as the “Woo Woo Woo” aired on the house speakers and the self-proclaimed god of independent wrestling came out, soaking up the atmosphere.

Corey Graves put over Cardona big time on commentary, saying this is not the same man who left WWE years ago and went on to reinvent himself on the indie scene, wrestling the biggest names in the industry who are not in WWE.

Unfortunately for the Long Island native, the result of the match did not go his way, but that does not mean it was not a win for Cardona, who showed everyone why they need to be “alwayz ready.”

Posing with Cardona backstage for a photo, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque wrote, “You never know who might show up in The Last Time Is Now Tournament. It’s all about opportunity and @TheMattCardona proved that tonight.”

His wife, Chelsea Green, was obviously proud of her man and added, “What a day to be Zack Ryders wife!”