Finally, after several years away, Matt Cardona made his WWE return on NXT, and his wife, Chelsea Green, was over the moon about it.
She reacted to Shawn Michaels' post on X, formerly Twitter, about Cardona's return. He took videos of Cardona during his first WWE photo shoot since his return. He captioned it, “[Matt Cardona] is back in action inside a [WWE] ring!”
Green quote-posted Michaels' post, replying, “Finally.”
It does appear Cardona and Green have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Green previously said she wanted her husband to return to WWE “more than anything.” That time has finally come.
Matt Cardona made his WWE return in September 2025
During the September 23, 2025, edition of NXT, Cardona made an appearance alongside other TNA wrestlers. He is part of their invasion storyline.
A few weeks later during the October 14, 2025, edition of NXT, Cardona had his first match in WWE in over five years. However, he lost to Josh Briggs.
Expect Cardona to continue to be part of the invasion storyline. Since his WWE release in 2020, Cardona has had several stints in TNA. Now, he is on team TNA against WWE in the invasion storyline.
Fans will have to wait and see if this leads to a full-fledged return to WWE. WWE and TNA have an ongoing partnership, which is why the invasion storyline is possible. Perhaps Cardona will get a shot to come back to WWE if he shows out.
Cardona was released from WWE in April 2020 after a 15-year tenure with the company. He would land on his feet shortly after, making an appearance in AEW months later.
He would then join Impact Wrestling, which later rebranded back to TNA, in 2021. Additionally, he competes in various independent wrestling companies as well.
Throughout his first WWE career, Cardona, who went by Zack Ryder, won the Tag Team Championship twice with Curt Hawkins. Additionally, he is a former Intercontinental and United States Champion. He won the Great American Bash Battle Royal as well in 2012.
