Matt Cardona made headlines last month when it was revealed he had filed for a number of trademarks related to his WWE run, including his old wrestling name Zack Ryder and his catchphrase “Woo Woo Woo You Know It.” He later explained that the decision to pursue the trademarks was purely for business reasons, but it seems he may have had a snag trying to get the Ryder name back. He told Nick Wayne on Twitter this week that his application had been rejected.

While Cardona has consistently left the door open for a return to WWE (as his wife, Chelsea Green, just did), in recent months he has continued to work for promotions such as Impact Wrestling, GCW, and the NWA. He will challenge Tire for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship this weekend at the Enough said pay per view in Tampa, Florida.

No. I tried to get that trademark. Was refused.

You fight The Indy God…The Deathmatch King…The King of the Sea…

MATT CARDONA!!! https://t.co/oQXnkIZBZM

— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) February 7, 2023

“A goal I’ve been saying for a long time is to win that WWE Championship. That’s not a lie,” Cardona told Chris Van Vliet last December. “When I got released, the goal wasn’t to get back to WWE. It wasn’t like, oh, what can I do to get them to notice me? What can I do to get back to WWE? That I sure can’t. But I’d be lying if I said I never want to wrestle at Madison Square Garden again, or I never want to have another WrestleMania match. Of course I do, because WWE is number one. So not saying, you know, there’s this, this plan to go back as soon as possible, but before I hang up the boots, I’d love to go back again.

He also confirmed that it would be a surprise if he went back: “If I went back I wouldn’t reveal it here, and if I didn’t go back I wouldn’t reveal it here because I want people to talk. “The more people talk about Matt Cardona, the better for me. I’m the internet champ, then now and forever. So let them talk.”