An update has been provided on the WWE contract status of Zack Ryder following his surprise return on the November 14 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Matt Cardona made his second return to WWE this year as LA Knight‘s surprise opponent in the “Last Time is Now” tournament on last Friday’s episode of SmackDown. However, he didn’t wrestle as Cardona, but under his old WWE gimmick, Zack Ryder, and although he received a great reaction for his entrance from the crowd, he was unable to get the victory and advance in the tournament.
Now, Fightful Select has provided an update on whether Ryder has signed a new WWE contract or not, stating that he and WWE have confirmed he has not signed a deal with the company to wrestle for them, but he has signed a merchandise deal with the company, which is why Zack Ryder merch appeared on WWEShop.com shortly after his appearance.
When Did Zack Ryder Last Wrestle For WWE?
Prior to his appearance last Friday, Zack Ryder last wrestled for WWE as Matt Cardona on the October 7 special episode of NXT, which was a TNA showdown special episode. Prior to his October appearance, he last wrestled for the company as Ryder on the March 9, 2020, episode of Raw, where he was defeated by Bobby Lashley in just over a minute.
Ryder was released by WWE in April of 2020 due to budget cuts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
