39-year-old star teases WWE return after 1,525 days following Cody Rhodes' announcement

A 39-year-old star recently teased his WWE return after more than four years following Cody Rhodes' major announcement on the latest edition of NXT. The star being referred to is Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder.

Rhodes made a huge appearance on the latest episode of the developmental brand to announce that Trick Williams' next opponent for the NXT Championship will be determined in a 25-man Battle Royal next week. The American Nightmare also mentioned that some of the participants might be from different locker rooms.

WWE posted a snippet of this segment on X/Twitter, mentioning Cody Rhodes' statement about wrestlers participating from different locker rooms, which caught Matt Cardona's attention, and he posted a photo of himself, teasing a huge return to the Stamford-based promotion after 1,525 days.

Check out Matt Cardona's tweet below:

The 39-year-old was last seen inside the World Wrestling Entertainment ring on the March 9, 2020, episode of Monday Night RAW, where he locked horns with Bobby Lashley in a losing effort and was released from his contract on April 15, 2020, due to the COVID-19 budget cuts. It will be interesting to see if The Indy God will return to the Stamford-based promotion next week.

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Matt Cardona talked about his desire to face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship

During a recent interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Matt Cardona said that he had several people in mind whom he would want to face upon his potential return to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Cardona mentioned that he would go after Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship or Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship because he was friends in real life with The American Nightmare.

"There's so many people. I can plug myself into almost any situation. Let's say Sami Zayn, IC Title. Come for that title, I had it for a day. Now I want it back, I want a real run with it. Cody Rhodes, WWE Champ. You know, our friendship, it's pretty obvious, it's pretty public. Maybe we flip the script on that. My wife, Chelsea Green, there's a layup right there with that," Matt Cardona said.

Check out his interview below:

Matt Cardona is currently recovering from a torn pec injury, so his potential participation in the 25-man Battle Royal on next week's episode of NXT seems doubtful.