Following Matt Cardona’s shocking return under the Zack Ryder persona on WWE SmackDown, John Cena has shared his reaction to the moment. Speaking on WWE Raw Recap, the 17-time World Champion expressed genuine happiness at seeing his longtime friend step back into a WWE ring.
“I was very, very glad to see Zack Ryder come back,” Cena said. “Matt is a personal friend of mine, I can speak candidly like that, and I’ve seen his mind grow.”
Since his 2020 WWE release, Cardona has undergone a full professional reinvention, becoming one of the most in-demand names on the independent wrestling scene. He captured the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship, along with title runs in GCW and TNA, proving his evolution beyond the Zack Ryder character. Cena highlighted how much Cardona has grown since their early days sharing a locker room.
“You wanna talk about always being curious and the quest for growth, the Zack Ryder I knew from a long time ago has accrued so much sports entertainment wisdom,” Cena continued. “It’s amazing when we have interactions, he’ll tell me about his journey and be like ‘this is what you were trying to talk about before and I wasn’t ready to understand it.’”
Cena also praised Cardona’s wife, Chelsea Green, for her own contributions to wrestling and for how the couple consistently maximizes their opportunities on television.
“I like rooting for people who are humble enough to admit when they’re wrong, and always want to grow, and are doing things for the greater good of the business,” Cena said. “Matt is certainly one of those guys, his wife Chelsea is one of those folks, who take an opportunity and get the absolute best out of it. I was really happy to see Zack Ryder back.”
Cardona made his surprise WWE return on the November 14 edition of SmackDown, entering the “Last Time is Now” tournament as a mystery opponent for LA Knight. The appearance marked his first match under the Zack Ryder name since 2020. Despite the buzz surrounding his return, Cardona has not signed a full-time WWE contract.
