Matt Cardona has revealed that a conversation between his wife, Chelsea Green, and WWE President Nick Khan was the catalyst for his return to WWE, with the ball getting rolling after Khan told Green to have Cardona reach out to him directly.
Speaking on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast, Cardona explained that his NXT appearance during the TNA invasion storyline in October 2025 came about despite him not being under a formal TNA contract at the time, and that it was this match that indirectly opened the door to his WWE comeback.
“I’m working for TNA but not technically under contract,” Cardona said. “TNA does the invasion of NXT, and they asked to have me. I know I’m not under contract but I’m like, I’m going to sneak in. Sure, I’ll do it.”
The NXT appearance caught the attention of the right people. Green was in Saudi Arabia for Royal Rumble media shortly after and crossed paths with Khan, prompting a conversation that changed the trajectory of Cardona’s career.
“Chelsea said to Nick something like, did you see my husband wrestle on NXT?” Cardona said. “Nick said something like, I’ve always wanted to meet your husband, talk to your husband, give him my number. She gave me Nick Khan’s number. You know I’m texting immediately. And then Nick called me right there and said, what do you want? I said, I want to come back. And the ball kind of got rolling from there.”
Cardona acknowledged there were ups and downs in the process before the deal was finalized, but credited that initial phone call as the pivotal moment. Now back on the SmackDown roster, Cardona said his ambitions remain exactly what they were when he first entered wrestling.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be the WWE champ,” Cardona told Rhodes. “That’s the title. I think you and I are alike. We didn’t just want to be wrestlers, we didn’t just want to be WWE Superstars, we wanted to be the WWE Champion. So why not swing for it? That’s the goal ever since I was a little kid.”
Cardona was released by WWE in 2020 and spent five years rebuilding his career on the independent circuit, becoming one of the most talked-about performers in promotions like GCW before making his return at the start of 2026.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit What Do You Wanna Talk About with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
