Matt Cardona Reveals Why Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens Left Him 'Pissed'

Matt Cardona returned to WWE in early 2026, completing his goal of coming back to the company.

Cardona, also known as Zack Ryder, had previously had a memorable run in WWE; he won the United States Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, among other accolades. WWE released Cardona in 2020, and he found success on the independent scene and in other promotions. Cardona returned to WWE in January and is now part of the SmackDown roster.

In a new interview, Cardona was asked about the time that Owens and Rhodes made fun of his clear desire to return to WWE while he was away from the company.

Matt Cardona was upset Rhodes and Owens mocked him

In the years that Cardona was wrestling on the independent scene, he made it clear that he wanted to return to WWE. He often discussed this goal in interviews.

In a 2025 episode of What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes, the former WWE Champion and his guest, Kevin Owens, commented on Cardona's work on the independent scene. Owens poked fun at how Matt often said he loved the indies, but that he frequently discussed his hopes of returning to WWE. Owens and Rhodes then laughed about it.

Speaking on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Cardona was asked about their comments.

"Oh boy," Cardona said. "Honestly, I was pissed! Because they made it seem that all I would say is I want to be back in WWE. Blah blah. I’d only talk about it when I’d be doing things like this, and you ask me a question. So it bothered me, but I’m over it now.”

When Van Vliet noted that it felt like the comments were made in good fun, Cardona agreed. However, he said that he "didn't appreciate" not getting the chance to tell his version of the story. Cardona pointed out that he couldn't say anything on social media at the time, as he knew he would have "lost that fight."

"Yes, it wasn’t malicious. I just did not appreciate that I didn’t get a chance to come on and tell my version until I got re-signed.”

As Cardona said, it's all water under the bridge now, and he's clearly happy to be back in WWE. He has often discussed his friendship with Rhodes, and it's fair to assume that everyone involved has put this matter behind them.

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