Once his wife, Chelsea Green, returned to WWE, rumors really ramped up that Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder, would follow her. However, that is yet to happen, and now while speaking to the Rasslin podcast, he has revealed the three factors that would need to be right for him to return. With cash and creative seemingly top of the list, and then his independent valet, herself a former WWE talent, Steph De Lander, also coming along with him.
The two Cs have to be right. The cash and creative … And she [Steph De Lander] needs to come along.Matt Cardona
Under the name Zack Ryder, Cardona got over with WWE fans despite receiving very little television time thanks to his YouTube show True Long Island Story. Fans would chant “We Want Ryder” at shows, his merchandise would sell out, and he proclaimed himself the Internet Champion. Yet it’s believed that WWE management was annoyed with Cardona for getting himself over without their involvement, which is why he never received a sustained push. And for years, fans would call for him to quit the promotion, but likely due to having grown up as a diehard WWE fan and living his dream, he continued to make the best of what he was given.
WWE did, though, eventually release him in April 2020, forcing him to look for other employment possibilities. And since then, he has appeared briefly for AEW and then Impact Wrestling. Additionally, he made a foray into the world of deathmatch wrestling with GCW, becoming one of the most talked-about wrestlers online, giving him a legitimate claim as the Internet Champion. Nevertheless, his biggest non-WWE career highlight was last year when he became the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion by defeating Trevor Murdoch. Sadly though, he would have to vacate the title previously held by the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Harley Race due to injury.
