Matt Cardona has made it clear by now that he is “Alwayz Ready.”
And it’s a good thing, too.
During the first episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown of the New Year of 2026 last Friday night, January 2, the former WWE Superstar known as Zack Ryder made his official return to WWE.
After turning up as a mystery competitor as a surprise in “The Last Time Is Now” tournament back on November 14, the wheels were in motion for his official WWE comeback.
Following a statement he released after his 1/2 SmackDown return, Cardona checked in with a detailed explanation on how things came together via a video released on his official YouTube channel, The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.
Cardona explained that WWE told him to keep in touch after his 11/14 one-off in the tournament designed to determine the opponent for the WWE retirement match of John Cena.
And that’s what he did.
While at the annual WrestleCade convention during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, “The Death Match King” noted that he was contacted by WWE to begin the contract process.
“That’s when I got the call [at dinner during WrestleCade],” Cardona revealed (see video above). “‘Hey, we’re interested. Let’s start talking,'” Cardona recalled WWE telling him. “I was like, ‘Oh, boy. Here we go.’”
From there, things began moving quickly, with pen going to paper to seal the deal for Matt Cardona’s full-time WWE return during the Christmas holiday week in late-December.
Cardona continued, “It was very stressful [but] in a good way. Like, not bad stress. But still like, ‘Is this going to happen? Is this not going to happen?’ And then finally signed Christmas week. So, it was like very sudden.”
He explained that at that point, the final touches were put on the remaining loose ends, such as whether or not he would be performing as Matt Cardona as he has for the past several years, or returning to his former WWE moniker of ‘Zack Ryder.’
“Then it’s like, ‘Okay, am I Zack [Ryder]? Am I Matt [Cardona]?'” he said. “So, I’m having both sets of gear made and designed.”
Based on how everything played out, it appears that while Cardona adopted the Ryder name for his one-off appearance in WWE in late-2025, he will be remaining as Matt Cardona in WWE going forward in 2026.
April 15, 2020…Zack Ryder was released from @WWE. It had to happen. Being a WWE Superstar was my lifelong dream. I had been signed for 14 years…on TV for 13. I traveled all over the world, had action figures, won championships, and experienced everything else that came with… pic.twitter.com/Fsjw72PIsd
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) January 3, 2026
