Matt Cardona’s return to WWE on SmackDown was meant to be a joyous moment in the Cardona household, but his wife and fellow WWE star Chelsea Green’s title loss made it a bittersweet weekend.
Cardona made a surprise return to the promotion on the first SmackDown of 2026, the same night when Green defended her WWE United States Championship, which she lost to Giulia. Green recently spoke to Sam Roberts on “Notsam Wrestling,” where she talked about the emotional contrast of the night.
“Yes, it was heartbreaking,” she said disappointingly. “Truly heartbreaking. Great moment for my husband; terrible moment for me. Like, the dichotomy of that and just the internal struggle with, like, very happy for you in your moment, but also like give me one second just to like shed a quick tear because I just had the sh*t beaten out of me.”
Green stated that the point of being married is being happy for your partner’s successes, even when things aren’t going well for you. She admitted that she wasn’t the easiest person to be around on Friday after losing the title, but was in a better place the following day.
“I did a terrible job of that on Friday, but come Saturday, I think I really turned it around,” she said.
Green lost the Women’s United States title to Giulia, ending her second reign with the title at just over 50 days. Cardona, earlier in the night, interrupted Kit Wilson’s promo, during which the Titantron initially displayed his former WWE ring name, Zack Ryder, before transitioning to the Matt Cardona name. He then wrestled Wilson and defeated him.
On the following week’s SmackDown, Cardona appeared in a backstage segment with his friend and then–Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, telling him that he planned to go after the title. He will get that opportunity beginning on this week’s SmackDown, where he is set to face Trick Williams in an Undisputed WWE Championship qualifying match.
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