"Zack Ryder is always ready," Matt Cardona talks about major WWE return

Former WWE Superstar Matt Cardona recently made a one-match return to the company for the Last Time is Now Tournament. Known in the Stamford-based promotion as Zack Ryder, he fought LA Knight in a losing effort on the November 14, 2025, episode of SmackDown. Interestingly, he recently shed light on what could make him make another comeback.

Speaking to Bill Apter on 1WrestlingVideo, Matt Cardona said that he will always be ready to work for WWE. When asked if he has an opponent he would like to fight, Ryder said that he has never had dream opponents except Edge (Adam Copeland), Christian, and Macho Man.

He also jokingly said that he will fight whoever gets him the biggest paycheck. Switching to a serious tone, the 40-year-old said that he would fight an opponent who would get him the most buzz and attention.

“Just like Matt Cardona, Zack Ryder is always ready. So the phone rings, we'll have a conversation, you know? The one that's going to get me paid the most money… I've never really had, like, dream opponents. The only dream opponents I had in my whole career were Edge, Christian, and Macho Man. I wrestled Edge and Christian. Macho Man's dead. So I couldn't wrestle Macho Man, you know? But seriously, like, whatever is the next marquee match, what match is going to get talked about, what match is going to get the most buzz? And yes, that will lead to the most money, but what will have the wrestling world talking? That's my next dream match.” [From 2:45 - 3:39]

When Apter suggested the name of Gunther to Cardona and asked him if he would like to fight him, Ryder said he's up for it. He also noted that The Ring General won’t complain about him being stiff like the other wrestlers in TNA.

“People have said that I'm kind of snug in there, so let's see. Gunther might not complain, like, all these little wimps in TNA wrestling.” [From 3:43 - 3:49]

Thus, the former Intercontinental Champion does plan on returning to WWE someday and fighting Gunther in a match if he can. Right now, Matt Cardona has a temporary merchandise deal with the Stamford-based promotion, which released three Zack Ryder t-shirts on the WWE Shop.

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Matt Cardona and Karrion Kross enter a heated online spat

The new Zack Ryder merchandise instantly registered a lot of sales on the WWE Shop and became a top seller on the website. Posting about this achievement on X, Matt Cardona also sneakily took a jab at Karrion Kross, saying he won’t let his merch sales get to his head.

Matt Cardona

@TheMattCardona

I don’t know how accurate the Top Sellers filter is on @WWEShop, but it shows that the 3 new Zack Ryder shirts are the top selling shirts. (I won’t let it get to my head like @realKILLERkross did)​Thank YOU for the support. It’s much appreciated. If you haven’t, please consider buying one of the new shirts. ​WOO WOO WOO…YOU KNOW IT!

This resulted in The Herald of Doomsday clapping back. The former two-time NXT Champion said that he heard from LA Knight that Ryder soiled himself after his defeat in the Last Time is Now Tournament match. The Megastar hasn’t confirmed or denied this allegation, but Kross responded to Cardona in poor taste.

Karrion Kross was released from WWE after the 2025 SummerSlam. Before his departure, the 40-year-old had garnered a lot of fan following through his social media activity, which resulted in his merchandise becoming one of the top sellers in the company, despite him not getting much screen time.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit 1WrestlingVideo and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.