Matt Cardona is officially back in WWE.
During the first WWE SmackDown show of the New Year of 2026 on January 2 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, Kit Wilson faced off against a mystery opponent, which ended up being Matt Cardona, with the intro of his Zack Ryder theme song playing, before his name faded away to reveal the name Matt Cardona, and Cardona returned with his real name.
On commentary, Michael Cole noted that Matt Cardona was now officially a member of the SmackDown roster, with him seemingly re-signing with the company. Cardona picked up the win when he put Wilson away with the Rough Ryder. Michael Cole pointed out that the victory was Matt Cardona’s first win in a WWE ring in over six years.
Matt Cardona appeared on WWE programming a few months ago when he returned on the November 14th episode of SmackDown. Cardona returned as Zack Ryderto face off against LA Knight in The Last Time Is Now Tournament in a match that saw LA Knight pick up the victory. It was reported following the appearance that it was just a one off, but now it appears that he is officially back with the company.
