Matt Cardona returned to his old WWE persona Zack Ryder to battle LA Knight in the second of two opening round matches in “The Last Time Is Now” tournament that took place on the November 14, 2025 episode of WWE SmackDown.
The match saw LA knight pick up the win, joining Jey Uso who advanced earlier in the show with a win over The Miz in first-round tournament action.
This was his first match on the main roster in over five years, having wrestled on the October 7th edition of NXT in a losing effort to Josh Briggs.
