Matt Cardona Says He Was ‘Pissed’ After WWE Stars’ Comments About Him Prior To His Return: ‘It Bothered Me, But I’m Over It Now’

WWE

A WWE star has admitted that he was legitimately bothered by Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes’ comments about him prior to him rejoining the company.

Between Matt Cardona’s WWE exit in April 2020 and his official return in January 2026, the former “Zack Ryder” established himself as the “Indy God”, winning championships in multiple promotions as an independent talent.

With Cardona also being open during this time about his goal to win the WWE Championship, and having said that he was surprised WWE hadn’t re-signed him in May 2025, Kevin Owens infamously referenced Matt Cardona discourse on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast in June 2025, stating:

“I love Matt, the only thing I’ll say is, for a guy who loves being on the indies so much, he sure f**king talks about how much he wants to be in WWE a lot, that’s all.

“You can’t call yourself ‘King of the Indies’ then go out there telling people ‘I don’t know why WWE hasn’t signed me, I don’t get it.’ Are you f**king happy or not, dude?”

Matt Cardona has now addressed these comments, noting on Insight with Chris Van Vliet that he was “pissed” at the time.

Stating that he would only speak about WWE when asked about potential returns, Cardona said:

“Honestly, I was pissed, because they made it seem that all I would say is I wanted to be back in WWE.

“I’d only talk about it when I’d be doing things like this, and you ask me a question. It bothered me, but I’m over it now.

“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.”

While Cardona did mention his goal to become WWE Champion on SmackDown shortly after his return in January, the former “Zack Ryder” hasn’t really been presented as a world title contender in recent months.

Matt Cardona hasn’t won a singles match since defeating Nathan Frazer on WWE Main Event in May, with his last one-on-one victory on SmackDown being his return match, against Kit Wilson on January 2.

Cardona has picked up several tag-team wins since his comeback, winning his most recent SmackDown in-ring appearance, alongside Danhausen against Angel and Berto of Los Garza on June 23.

With Cardona being just one world title win away from being a WWE Grand Slam champion, it would be a full-circle moment to see the star’s luck change, and for him to win the big one.

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• Cody Rhodes
• matt cardona
• wwe
• KEVIN OWENS

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