Pro wrestling veteran Matt Cardona made a surprising return to WWE last Friday night on SmackDown, where he defeated Kit Wilson in a singles match.
Michael Cole confirmed during commentary that Cardona has officially signed with the SmackDown brand.
Cardona was scheduled to defend the ACW World Title against Mike Santana at the ACW Poughkeepsie Rumble, held at the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. However, as the event began, Cardona appeared on the big screen and announced that he was vacating the title because he had returned to WWE and could no longer compete in ACW or fulfill his responsibilities as the ACW World Champion.
Cardona said, “I’m sure you guys saw last night; I made a return to SmackDown. I am back with WWE. That means I can no longer compete tonight. That means I can no longer be the ACW World Champion. I am very proud to have been the ACW World Champion. I love ACW, one of the greatest independent promotions out there with such a great roster, and I know that somebody is gonna step up to give you great fans a new ACW World Champion. See you, guys, down the road.”
In October 2025, Cardona won the ACW World Title by defeating Richard Holliday, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Riddle in a 4-Way Elimination Match at ACW Mischief Night.
Currently, Cardona also holds three other titles: the QPW Middle East Championship, the WSW World Heavyweight Title, and the JCW Lunacy World Heavyweight Championship.
