Zack Ryder nearly came back with Matt Cardona.
WrestleVotes Radio reports that when Cardona returned to WWE earlier this year, some behind-the-scenes hoped he would ultimately be presented under his old Zack Ryder name.
The thinking was straightforward. Ryder was an established television presence with real familiarity to the WWE audience, and that was seen as more valuable than leaning into everything Cardona had built for himself on the independent scene.
Cardona spent nearly six years rebuilding himself from scratch after WWE cut him loose in April 2020, reinventing himself as the “Indy God” and turning that run into the very reason WWE wanted him back. He signed his new deal during Christmas week with his GCW World Championship sitting in his lap, and has said flatly that without GCW, he never makes it back.
He returned full-time on the January 2 episode of SmackDown, beating Kit Wilson. WrestleVotes hasn’t heard anything indicating a shift back to the Ryder persona is currently planned, but it’s a situation worth watching.
