Matt Cardona Reveals How His WWE Deal Came Together

Matt Cardona’s return to WWE on the January 2, 2026 episode of SmackDown wasn’t just a one-off—and now, the man formerly known as Zack Ryder is pulling back the curtain on how it all happened.

In a new episode of The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, Cardona broke down the timeline of his return, saying it all started with his match against LA Knight—the first spark that led to real conversations with WWE brass. Cardona said the first real call came while he was at WrestleCade, immediately following a match. He stepped out from dinner to take the call—and it was WWE on the line.

“After the SmackDown thing with LA Knight, that’s kind of when the ball got rolling, right? That’s when there were discussions like, ‘Oh, we’ll be in touch, blah blah blah.’”

“I was at dinner after we had the match. I left and went and took a phone call. That’s when I got the call—like, ‘Hey, you know, we’re interested. Let’s start talking.’ I was like, ‘Oh boy—all right, here we go.’”

Matt Cardona admitted that the negotiation period was full of nervous excitement since he still wasn’t sure if it was going to happen. Eventually, it all came together just days before Christmas as he finally inked his new deal with WWE.

“So it was very stressful in a good way — not bad stress — but still like, is this going to happen? Is this not going to happen? Just the particulars. “And then finally, it got signed Christmas week. So it was very sudden. And then it’s like, okay — am I Zack? Am I Matt? So I’m having both sets of gear made and designed.”

In classic stealth mode, Cardona made sure no one spotted him ahead of his SmackDown return.

“Even that day going to SmackDown—SmackDown was in Buffalo, so I flew into Rochester so no one would see me at the airport. Then I was hidden in a room all day. I was like, ‘Oh—I just want the news to be out there.’”

Now back in WWE with a new name and a new mission, Matt Cardona is already making headlines—and fans are excited to see how this reinvention plays out.

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