Zack Ryder got the WWE "stink" after recent SmackDown appearance, feels former wrestling sensation

Former WWE star Stevie Richards recently spoke about Zack Ryder's booking during his recent appearance. The star was a participant in the Last Time is Now tournament.

Ryder showed up as the surprise opponent for LA Knight in a first-round match of the Last Time is Now tournament. It was a huge throwback since Ryder had a lot of history with Cena back in the day. Zack put on a stellar effort against the Megastar but came up short and could not advance to the next round.

During a recent episode of The Stevie Richards Show, the former wrestler noted that WWE dampened his return by calling him Ryder instead of Matt Cardona. He felt the loss would deflate the "Indy God's" momentum outside the promotion. Stevie detailed that Matt Cardona could convince wrestling fans and promoters that he didn't lose the match, and it was Zack Ryder's fault.

"And also they put it right back on him, the stink when they called him Zack Ryder. Now that could be a double-edged thing in a good way with that too, a blessing as well as a curse. Here's the insanity of wrestling. Matt Cardona didn't do the job, Matt Cardona is still strong in the indies. Zack Ryder did the job. You can convince some promoters of thar. I was a little shocked, I would say, not even surprised."

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Zack Ryder got his picture with Triple H

After the return, Ryder got a picture with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. Hunter also shared a note on social media claiming that everything is possible in WWE, and fans could never predict who would show up in the Last Time is Now tournament.

Ryder also shared recently that he had a very positive exchange with Triple H. He noted that it was a full circle moment because the first time he was in Albany, he teamed up with Curt Hawkins to face Triple H and Jeff Hardy.

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While using the quotes from this piece, please credit The Stevie Richards Show and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcript.

Edited by Prityush Haldar