John Cena is set to compete in his final WWE match next month and The Last Time Is Now Tournament to determine his final opponent recently kicked off on Raw. The tournament continued on SmackDown this week with Jey Uso vs. The Miz and LA Knight vs. a mystery opponent.
Jey Uso faced off against The Miz in the first match on SmackDown and it was Main Event Jey Uso who picked up the win to advance in the tournament.
When it was time for LA Knight’s mystery opponent to be revealed Matt Cardona returned to WWE as Zack Ryder. He entered with his classic Zack Ryder theme and the fans chanted “woo, woo, woo” when Ryder got in the ring.
NO WAY!!!
Zack Ryder is @RealLAKnight's mystery opponent pic.twitter.com/orbLc9fxbh
— WWE (@WWE) November 15, 2025
As the match kicked off Michael Cole pointed out that Zack Ryder had not competed in a WWE ring (not including NXT) in 5 and a half years. At one point Zack Ryder managed to connect with the Rough Ryder, but The Megastar kicked out at 2.
Near the end of the match Zack Ryder was seemingly trying to hit LA Knight with a Rough Ryder off the top rope and Knight countered with a powerbomb. LA Knight then followed up with the BFT to defeat Ryder and advance in The Last Time Is Now Tournament.
Stay tuned for more updates on Friday Night SmackDown and The Last Time Is Now Tournament as they become available.