Matt Cardona breaks silence after WWE return

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) recently took to social media to break his silence after making a huge return to the Stamford-based promotion on the latest edition of NXT.

In the main event of this week's developmental show, TNA World Champion Trick Williams locked horns with NXT Champion Oba Femi in a Winner Takes All Match. During the bout, several TNA stars were shown in the crowd, including Matt Cardona, who received a huge pop from fans. The former Zack Ryder hadn't been seen in the Stamford-based promotion since his exit in 2020.

Trick Williams and Oba Femi's bout ultimately ended in a DQ after the former slapped Mike Santana, who joined the commentary team in the middle of the match. Following Trick's slap, all hell broke loose as several TNA stars, including Matt Cardona, came inside the ring to brawl with the NXT roster.

The former Intercontinental Champion recently took to Instagram to break his silence after his WWE return. Cardona sent a warning to the NXT roster, writing that she shouldn't take TNA stars lightly.

"Driving home from @wwenxt…Don’t count out @tnawrestling…and don’t count out THE COMPLETE MATT CARDONA!" he wrote.

Check out his Instagram post below:

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Matt Cardona wants to face John Cena before his WWE retirement

Matt Cardona took to X/Twitter in May 2025 to reminisce about wrestling John Cena ten years ago on Long Island. The former Intercontinental Champion also expressed his desire to face the 17-time World Champion again before he retired from wrestling.

"TIME FLIES! 10 years ago on Long Island, I wrestled @johncena with the cast of Entourage watching my back. Even though I didn’t get the VICTORY, it’s still a career highlight! Entourage is one of, if not my favorite, TV shows of all time. The show gave @myers_wrestling & I the idea to pitch becoming the Edgeheads. If we didn’t become the Edgeheads, who knows where we’d be today. Only a few more months to get another match with John before he retires," Cardona tweeted.

It seems highly unlikely that Matt Cardona will wrestle John Cena before the latter hangs up his boots at the end of 2025, as Cena only has a few dates left on his retirement tour.

It will be interesting to see if the former Zack Ryder will show up on WWE TV once again in the future.

Edited by Aashrit Satija