Tag: Zack Ryder

Matt Cardona thanks fans one week after WWE ‘Ryder Resurrection’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

One week after his surprise SmackDown return, Matt Cardona sent out a message thanking fans for making the “Ryder Resurrection” possible.

Cardona made a one-night-only return to WWE last Friday as part of the Last Time is Now tournament. He stepped back into his Zack Ryder persona for the first time in more than five years, losing a matchup against LA Knight.

“It’s been 1 week since I showed up on SmackDown. I think I have milked the appearance as much as I can…haha,” Cardona posted today. “This business moves so fast. It doesn’t care what you did last week. What are you doing now…what are you doing NEXT?!

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity I was given last week. Thank you @wwe. But most importantly, I have to thank the fans. You all caused the Ryder Revolution in 2011. In 2025, you caused the Ryder Resurrection!

“It’s unknown what’s next for Zack Ryder…but I am ALWAYZ READY. Woo Woo Woo…You Know It!”

Cardona has signed a temporary merchandise deal allowing WWE to release new Zack Ryder T-shirts. As far as any in-ring future with WWE, the match against Knight was a one-off for now. Cardona stars on the indies for promotions like GCW in addition to making appearances for TNA.

The Last Time is Now tournament continues on SmackDown tonight with Bronson Reed vs. Carmelo Hayes and Penta vs. Finn Balor. They are the last first-round matches in the tournament, which has already seen Knight, Sheamus, Rusev, Jey Uso, Gunther, and Solo Sikoa advance. The tournament winner earns the right to be John Cena’s final opponent.

Matt Cardona confirms temporary WWE merch deal

Posted on by Joseph Currier

He’s not back with WWE, but Matt Cardona has signed a deal to temporarily allow the company to sell Zack Ryder merchandise.

On SmackDown last Friday, Cardona made his surprise return to WWE as an entrant in the Last Time is Now Tournament. He wrestled using his old Zack Ryder name, losing a first-round match against LA Knight. WWE Shop released some new Ryder merch to go along with the appearance, which led to speculation that Cardona was back with WWE on a regular basis. He confirmed on his Major Wrestling Figure podcast that, for now, the match was a one-off and we’ll see what happens from here.

“I did sign something to let them do merch, temporarily,” Cardona said. “Could there be a Mattel figure? Could there be a Topps card? It’s really up to them. I’ve given them the rights, temporarily.”

Cardona noted that he flew into New York City instead of Albany (where SmackDown was taking place) to avoid being seen. His wife Chelsea Green was doing a media appearance in NYC, so he went to that appearance with her and then drove up to Albany. At SmackDown, he was hidden away so his return wouldn’t be spoiled.

For the match, Cardona had to get new Zack Ryder gear made at the last minute because he had sold all of his old gear except for items that have significant meaning to him like WrestleMania outfits.

“Great experience, great night. You know, five years — it’s been over five years, Cardona said about his return. “I had to, with 24 hours notice, get Zack Ryder gear made. Because all the gear that I had wasn’t something I’d want to wear. But I did use my old boots, and they were, like, ripped. The straps were ripped. I had to get Shotzi’s husband Jesus to fix them.”

Last night’s Raw saw Dolph Ziggler (Nic Nemeth) return to WWE for a one-off tournament match. Like with Cardona, WWE Shop released a new T-shirt for him.

The Last Time is Now tournament will determine John Cena’s final opponent for Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Gunther and Solo Sikoa earned their spots in the next round with victories last night.

WOL: Skye Blue’s Clues

Posted on by Jim Valley

It’s the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

  • We had a fun WWE SmackDown on Friday focused on the build to WarGames.
  • TNA tried to work the marks but ended up working itself.
  • We’ll parse the words of Chris Jericho – what he said, what he didn’t say, and why.
  • It’s days later and many fans are still talking about AEW Blood and Guts for good reason.
  • We’ll play a round of “Do You Funk With It?” with Mel from Power Bombshells of Fight Game Media.

It’s a packed show, so check it out.

Click Here To Listen (sub needed)

Report: Update on Zack Ryder’s WWE contract status

Posted on by Ian Carey

Matt Cardona (aka Zack Ryder) is reportedly not signed to a WWE contract.

According to Fightful Select, both WWE and Cardona have confirmed that his return on WWE SmackDown last night is for now being considered a one-off appearance. However, a merchandising agreement is in place, as Zack Ryder merchandise began selling online shortly after his return on Friday’s show.

Cardona is also set for tonight’s TNA Wrestling TV tapings at Full Sail University in Florida. He responded to a TNA social media post about the show on Saturday, writing, “I’ll be there!”

Ryder alluded to his return being for one night only in his post-match comments published on WWE’s YouTube channel. He said:

“This might be a one time shot, I might get the call tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter because I’m Zack Ryder and I’m always ready. And I guess I can say this: Woo woo woo, you know it.”

Knight then entered the scene and also seemed unsure if Ryder was back full time or not.

“I don’t know if this is a welcome back or if this is a see you later but all I can say is, Yeah!”

Zack Ryder comments on WWE future after SmackDown return

Posted on by Ian Carey

Matt Cardona (aka Zack Ryder) is always ready.

Cardona was revealed as LA Knight’s mystery opponent in the Last Time is Now tournament on Friday’s edition of SmackDown. Following his loss to Knight, he spoke backstage about not being sure if the match was a one-off or a full return.

He said:

“Five years. It’s been five years since I put on Zack Ryder boots. Every single morning, the first thing I do before I even open my damn eyes, I say how can I get back here? What do I have to do to get back here? I busted my ass for the past five years, Death Match King, Indie God, The Complete, all for this moment.“

“This might be a one time shot, I might get the call tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter because I’m Zack Ryder and I’m always ready. And I guess I can say this: Woo woo woo, you know it.”

Knight then entered the scene, shook Ryder’s hand, and said:

“I don’t know if this is a welcome back or if this is a see you later but all I can say is, Yeah!”

Cardona would later write on X:

“I cannot express in words what last night meant to me, but if I had to try… Don’t Quit… Alwayz Ready… Thank You… WOO! WOO! WOO!”

Ryder’s wife, and two-time WWE Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green also responded to a clip of Ryder’s return posted by WWE, writing:

“Hehe I knew before you knew!” Later adding, “What a day to be Zack Ryders wife!”

Ryder was released by WWE in April 2020 after having been with the company since 2005. He’s a former Intercontinental, United States, and two-time Raw Tag Team Champion along with Curt Hawkins.

The Last Time is Now mystery opponent revealed on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

LA Knight’s mystery opponent in The Last Time is Now tournament was revealed on Friday’s WWE SmackDown.

The returning Zack Ryder was introduced as the surprise opponent for Knight in the tournament on Friday’s SmackDown episode.

Knight pinned Ryder in the contest with a BFT to advance to the next round.

Triple H posted about Ryder’s return:

WWE has not officially announced Ryder as having signed a contract with the company, but new Ryder merchandise has been released on WWE Shop, often an indicator that some kind of contractual arrangement has been reached.

Friday’s bout was the first main roster match for Ryder since a March 2020 Raw episode where he lost to Bobby Lashley in a squash match. Ryder did take on Josh Briggs on an NXT TV episode last month.

In Friday’s other tournament match, Jey Uso defeated The Miz to advance to the round of eight. A bracket has yet to be revealed for The Last Time is Now tournament.

Sheamus, Rusev, Uso, and Knight have advanced to the quarterfinals. Two more first round matchups are set for Monday’s Raw — Gunther vs. Je’Von Evans, and Solo Sikoa vs. a mystery opponent. The final first round matches will take place on next Friday’s SmackDown with Penta vs. Finn Balor, and Bronson Reed vs. Carmelo Hayes.

Our full report from SmackDown is available here.

Matt Cardona makes Impact Wrestling debut at Hard to Kill

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The former Zack Ryder made his Impact Wrestling debut at tonight’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view.

In a match that wasn’t announced in advance, Matt Cardona faced Ace Austin at Hard to Kill. Cardona won by disqualification when Madman Fulton interfered to save Austin. Cardona fought off Fulton and stood tall after hitting Radio Silence.

Cardona tweeted after making his Impact debut: “I needed tonight. Thanks @ScottDAmore for the opportunity. Thanks @IMPACTWRESTLING. Thanks to all my fans! I’m #AlwayzReady…I’m #HardToKill…and I’m NOT DONE with @The_Ace_Austin & @FultonWorld!”

Austin, who won Impact’s Super X-Cup at Genesis earlier this month, came to the ring at tonight’s PPV and cut a promo demanding to be added to the Manik vs. Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey X-Division Championship match. Scott D’Amore said he was going to give Austin another match instead, then introduced Cardona as his opponent.

Cardona was released by WWE during the company’s roster cuts last April. He had a short-term stint in AEW following his release from WWE, including teaming with Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall & Scorpio Sky in an eight-man tag match against The Dark Order at All Out in September.

Cardona hosts the Major Wrestling Figure podcast with his friend and former tag team partner Brian Myers (formerly known as Curt Hawkins in WWE). Myers recently signed a contract with Impact Wrestling. After being released by WWE in April, Myers made his return to Impact in July. Myers defeated Josh Alexander on tonight’s Hard to Kill pre-show.

Matt Cardona/Zack Ryder appears on AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The former Zack Ryder appeared on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

He appeared following the TNT title match between Cody and independent star Warhorse. John Silver and Alex Reynolds of the Dark Order attacked Cody after he successfully defended the title. Ryder checked on Cody once everything cleared and the two shook hands. Announcers identified him under his real name, Matt Cardona.

Shortly after his debut, AEW posted a link to merchandise featuring Cardona on their shop website.

Cardona was a part of wide-ranging cuts by WWE that took place back in April after being a part of WWE since 2005. His no-compete expired on July 18. On that day, he posted a teaser video hyping his return to the independent scene.

Prior to his release, he had re-formed his team with Curt Hawkins, who has now appeared in vignettes hyping his debut for Impact wrestling under his real name, Brian Myers.

Tag team match added to WWE Elimination Chamber pre-show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A pre-show match has been added to tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

The Viking Raiders will face off with Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder on the pre-show tonight. The announcement of that match was made on today’s pre-Elimination Chamber edition of WWE Now.

The Viking Raiders and Hawkins & Ryder are both part of the Raw tag team division. New Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits are defending their titles against former champions Seth Rollins & Murphy on tonight’s main card.

The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is hosting Elimination Chamber tonight. It’s WWE’s last PPV before WrestleMania 36.

Tonight’s pre-show begins at 6 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting an hour later. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:

  • Elimination Chamber match: Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Natalya vs. Ruby Riott vs. Liv Morgan vs. Sarah Logan (winner challenges for Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36)
  • Elimination Chamber match: SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison defending against The New Day, The Usos, The Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery, and Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
  • Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defending against Seth Rollins & Murphy
  • Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman defending against Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & Cesaro in a handicap match
  • United States Champion Andrade defending against Humberto Carrillo
  • No DQ match: AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
  • Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak
  • The Viking Raiders vs. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder (pre-show)

Ryder & Hawkins to challenge for WWE Raw Tag Team titles

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Raw Tag Team titles will be on the line on Monday’s go-home show for Survivor Series.

WWE has announced that Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders will defend their titles against Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins on Monday’s Raw. WWE set up Ryder & Hawkins getting the title shot by them defeating The OC’s Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson and The Street Profits in a triple threat match at today’s house show in Mannheim, Germany.

Hawkins rolled up Anderson to get the win.

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) also have a title defense before Survivor Series. Former champions The Revival will get their rematch for the titles on tomorrow’s SmackDown.

The Raw Tag Team Champions and SmackDown Tag Team Champions will face NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) in a non-title triple threat match at Survivor Series on Sunday, November 24.

Monday’s Raw is taking place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

WWE Main Event results: Hawkins & Ryder vs. Rowan & Young

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Shelton Benjamin defeated No Way Jose to make it two wins in a row after making his Main Event debut last week. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins also went two for two, seeing off Eric Young and the new tag partner he had this week — Erick Rowan.

With no Byron Saxton or Dio Maddin, the commentary team was Vic Joseph with Mickie James.

**********

Shelton Benjamin defeated No Way Jose (5:50)

Benjamin made an impressive Main Event debut last week. Despite it being a pity that he has nothing creatively at the moment and so is being used on Main Event, he immediately brought some relevance to the show.

Here against No Way Jose, there was much more of an even feel and he gave a lot of the match to Jose. The first two minutes were all Jose, with Benjamin looking rattled by the approach.

They went back and forth, with Jose hitting Benjamin with a double knee backbreaker before setting up for the knockout punch. Benjamin just about had it scouted before he then popped up and hit Jose with Paydirt for the win.

This was fine, but Benjamin being booked as a merciless wrestler who bullies and torments his opponents — just as he did against Akira Tozawa last week — would be way more interesting.

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins defeated Erick Rowan & Eric Young (6:08)

Ryder and Hawkins have new ring gear to make them look like a unit. It’s taken long enough, as even when they were Tag Team Champions, they were still coming out to their own individual music and wearing their old gear.

Last week, they saw off Eric Young & Mojo Rawley, but Rowan was infinitely better as a difference-maker here. 

Ryder and Hawkins cut the ring in half in the early going, but when Young knocked Ryder off the top rope to the outside, he tagged in Rowan, who absolutely annihilated Ryder with a charge on the floor.

Young and Rowan softened up Ryder. He played babyface in peril until finally giving Hawkins the hot tag. Eventually, Hawkins sent Rowan outside and launched Ryder on top of him so that he could turn around and cover Young with a sunset flip.

This was a good shock finish, with Ryder and Hawkins celebrating up the ramp while Rowan and Young stayed in the ring shaking their heads in disbelief.

WWE Main Event results: Cesaro & EC3 vs. Ryder & Hawkins

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Lacey Evans saw off Dana Brooke in the opener. The team of Cesaro & EC3 then defeated Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins to leave the latter without a televised win since May.

**********

Lacey Evans defeated Dana Brooke (5:09)

Evans and Brooke faced off against each other on Main Event two weeks back with the result going in the same direction. This was probably a better match all told, with the ending putting Evans over strong.

Evans spent much of the match working over Brooke’s left arm, but Evans does look to have improved in recent weeks. They did a spot where she mimicked Brooke’s one-handed press-ups, but this was otherwise quite a slow, formulaic match.

The ending looked good, with Evans using a sleeper hold, taking Brooke up to the second rope. When she then released Brooke, Brooke lay prone and Evans waited for her to get to her feet. Evans then came off the top with the Women’s Right for the win.

Cesaro & EC3 defeated Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins (3:53)

EC3 and Cesaro tagged together in six-man tag action back in June when they teamed up with Robert Roode. They defeated the Lucha House Party then and looked strong again here.

For Ryder and Hawkins, things seem to have returned to normalcy. They are without a televised win as a team since May and are being used more on this show than they are on Raw, where their appearances have been sporadic since they lost the Tag Team titles in June.

Cesaro looked so smooth and comfortable throughout and Hawkins and Ryder both had spots where they impressed. Hawkins came off the top rope to nail EC3 and Cesaro on the outside and Ryder did a tope on them both before the finish.

It was an all-action finish, though, after they had all hit their finishing moves. Cesaro pinned Ryder with the Neutralizer to give these two their first tag team win together.

WWE adds The Usos to Raw Tag Team title match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has added a third team to tonight’s Raw Tag Team title match.

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins will now defend their titles against The Revival and The Usos in a triple threat match on tonight’s Raw. The match was originally announced as Ryder & Hawkins defending against The Revival before The Usos were added.

The Usos defeated The Revival on the Super ShowDown pre-show this past Friday.

Ryder & Hawkins became Raw Tag Team Champions by defeating The Revival on the WrestleMania 35 pre-show. They haven’t had a televised title defense since retaining against The Revival on the Raw after WrestleMania.

Tonight’s Raw is taking place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. United States Champion Samoa Joe will appear on Miz TV, and WWE has announced a segment where Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre will celebrate Shane’s win against Roman Reigns from Super ShowDown.

Due to Rey Mysterio having a shoulder injury, Mysterio relinquished the United States title back to Joe on last week’s Raw.

Tag Team title match, two segments confirmed for WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A Tag Team title match and a couple of segments have been made official for this Monday’s episode of Raw.

WWE has announced that Raw Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins will defend their titles against The Revival on the episode. A Miz TV segment with Samoa Joe is also set, and Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre will celebrate Shane’s win against Roman Reigns from Super ShowDown.

Ryder & Hawkins became Raw Tag Team Champions by defeating The Revival on the WrestleMania 35 pre-show. They haven’t had a televised title defense since retaining against The Revival on the Raw after WrestleMania.

The Revival lost to The Usos on the Super ShowDown pre-show this past Friday.

Rey Mysterio relinquished the United States title to Samoa Joe last week, with Mysterio giving up the title due to a shoulder injury. Mysterio had won the title from Samoa Joe at Money in the Bank, though Joe’s shoulder was up when he was pinned.

Before Shane pinned Reigns at Super ShowDown, McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick on Reigns while the referee wasn’t looking. Reigns will face McIntyre at Stomping Grounds in Tacoma, Washington on June 23.

This week’s Raw is taking place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

WWE Main Event results: Ryder & Hawkins vs. Gallows & Anderson

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Two regular matches this week — one that was too long and one that was too short. EC3 lost again in a rematch against Cedric Alexander from last week. In the main event of the show, Raw Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins had a fun-while-it-lasted non-title bout, seeing off Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson.

**********

Byron Saxton and Renee Young were back as a two-person announce team this week. Saxton has done a remarkable job at merging his voice to sound just like every other generic WWE announcer. 

Cedric Alexander defeated EC3 (5:46)

Well, he lost again. EC3’s apathy is certainly apparent these days if you check out his Twitter. From a gif of him raising a red cup and an eyebrow from Raw to a picture of an out-of-shape-looking, pot-bellied Chris Hemsworth from Thor, EC3’s posts seem to say it all.

If you saw their match last week on Main Event, it was pretty much the same as this one. They did a big spot where EC3 hit a superplex on Alexander, but otherwise they would have benefited from going home earlier and giving more time to the tag match.

The finish was much the same as last week, too. EC3 went to set up for the One Percenter, but Alexander flipped out of it and then hit the Lumbar Check for the win. EC3 sold it like it killed his back and Alexander leaped on him for the pin.

Raw Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson in a non-title match (3:47)

This was very entertaining for what it was. All four of these men are very good at what they do, with Hawkins the standout here. Why it had to run at under four minutes and why it has to be relegated to Main Event is up there with asking why they called up EC3 and why he keeps losing.

There were a few looks and little wry smiles in this match that showed that these two teams probably get on pretty well on the road. Hawkins and Ryder are extremely smooth together — and for Gallows and Anderson much of this is now like muscle memory.

They went back and forth until the ring filled and Ryder was able to take out Anderson. Hawkins gave Anderson a sweet-looking Pele kick to stagger him so that they could set up the Long Island Express for the win.