Matt Cardona, who many know as Zack Ryder, has been wrestling circles as of late as the rumor mill has stated that he may be on his way back to WWE. Having left WWE in 2020, he has been a force on the indies and has made a striking impression on AEW, ROH and TNA. However, in spite of the consistent progress, WWE had not come to him, until now.
In early July, Cardona was at the centre of a melodramatic TNA Impact storyline. In a scorching assault by the Darkstate gang of NXT (with Dixon Lennox, Cutler James, Saquon Shugars and Osiris Griffin), he received a vicious beating at a time when WWE is about to hold its Great American Bash next weekend. Fans and insiders are betting that this could be his way back to the WWE and his wife, SmackDown star Chelsea Green, has already been on board with the buzz.
There are a lot of insiders who think that this angle is precisely what WWE Creative can work with. This is an excellent time to do it: NXT and TNA are currently engaged in a working crossover agreement, so the matches are already full of inter-promotional possibilities. Couple that with the fact that WWE is increasingly in need of new storylines, and Cardona is just about ready to come in and be greeted like a hero, both in revenge and redemption.
A New Chapter Beckons
Off-camera, Cardona has confessed that he would be surprised if he did not get an offer in the near future. He has made overtures--sent news and notes of his independent adventures--but has never had the go-ahead signal . Combined with the Darkstate collision and a big event looming on the horizon, he seems to have the ideal catapult off which to make the surprise comeback.
Should WWE actually fire the trigger, it would be a tactical victory on a number of levels: reconnecting with TNA, by giving NXT a mega boost, and offering the fans a feel-good moment pegged on a familiar face. Five years later, Matt Cardona can possibly be returning to the limelight where he deserves to be.