As seen during the November 14th 2025 edition of WWE SmackDown, LA Knight faced a mystery opponent in a “Last Time is Now” tournament match who turned out to be the returning Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona). This was Ryder’s first appearance on a WWE main roster show since 2020.
After a back and forth match, Knight picked up the victory with a BFT.
In 2022, Cardona said the following about a potential WWE return…
“I would love to come back as me, Matt Cardona, but I think realistically, the WWE has that IP and they’ve invested a lot in that name, so I would have no problem [doing it], even if it was a one-off at the Royal Rumble or something like that. I think it’d be interesting. If I were to come out, I don’t know if the people would boo. I think I’d get a huge pop! I think I’d be a babyface again.”
NO WAY!!!
Zack Ryder is @RealLAKnight‘s mystery opponent 🤯 pic.twitter.com/orbLc9fxbh
— WWE (@WWE) November 15, 2025