Matt Cardona is reflecting on his career with a sense of pride and a tinge of disbelief as he continues to find success outside of WWE, yet has not been brought back into the company that once made him a household name.

It has been more than five years since Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder, was released by WWE. Since then, he has reinvented himself across the independent wrestling scene, becoming a standout in promotions such as GCW. He considers this chapter of his career the most fulfilling yet, and admitted he is surprised that his momentum has not prompted a WWE return.

“Honestly? Yeah,” Cardona told Chris Van Vliet on Insight when asked if he expected WWE to re-sign him. “But, obviously, you know, I’m missing something, I don’t know what it is. Listen, people say to me all the time, especially like we just had WrestleMania, WrestleCon, thousands of people at WrestleCon, probably every other fan, if not every fan: ‘When are you coming back?’ Well, it’s not up to me. Or at the WrestleMania hotel… so many people from the office or other wrestling, ‘Hey, man, when are you coming back?’ It’s like, I don’t know. I’ve reached out many times. I shouldn’t say many, a few times, every couple months when something cool happens or I have something to say, ‘Hey, look what I’m doing.’ There’s been no offer. Of course [WWE has written him back]. Everything’s very nice, professional, but there’s no offer. And you know what, it is what it is, I’m going to keep working my ass off.”

Following his WWE departure, Cardona said he never fixated on chasing a return to WWE or AEW. His focus has remained on carving out his own path and validating his self-worth as a performer. Over the past few years, Cardona has made appearances for AEW and Ring of Honor, including a high-profile match against Chris Jericho at Final Battle in December 2024 , a moment he called a childhood dream come true. Despite that, AEW has not extended a contract offer.

When asked if he would consider signing with AEW, Cardona replied, “If it made sense. I don’t want to be anywhere just to be a guy on the roster. And I know there’s no guarantees in pro wrestling, but I need like intent, you know? Like we see you doing this, or we envision you being here. I don’t want to just collect a check. Kind of been there, done that.”

Cardona noted he maintains a strong relationship with AEW, particularly through his Major Wrestling Figure company’s business dealings with Jazwares, the company behind AEW’s line of action figures.

Cardona turned 40 years old on Wednesday, May 14, and remains a free agent.