Some In WWE Want Matt Cardona To Revert To Zack Ryder Persona

Matt Cardona returned to WWE earlier this year, re-signing with the promotion in January before joining the Friday Night SmackDown roster. He had previously had some cameos in NXT under the Cardona name, before competing under his former WWE moniker of “Zack Ryder” in the Last Time Is Now Tournament at the back end of 2025. Upon his official re-signing with WWE, he once again became Matt Cardona… though this wasn’t necessarily what some of those in WWE wanted. 

According to WrestleVotes Radio via Fightful Select, the internal viewpoint of some behind the scenes in WWE was a hope for Cardona to be presented as “Zack Ryder” upon his return. It was noted that the reasoning behind this was due to his former WWE persona being one that was already established in the company and retained a familiarity with their audience, rather than the Cardona gimmick that achieved so much success on the independent scene. 

It is noted that there are no evident plans for WWE to change Cardona back into his former gimmick, but it was said that it is something to keep an eye on going forwards.