Chelsea Green’s husband is professional wrestler Matt Cardona, the performer many longtime WWE fans remember as Zack Ryder.
The pair are one of wrestling’s better-known real-life couples, with both building successful careers inside the ring. Their relationship has also crossed into professional wrestling, where they have appeared together on independent shows and supported each other’s careers.
Green has since established herself as a major WWE personality, while Cardona has reinvented himself outside the company as the self-proclaimed “Indie God.”
Who Is Matt Cardona?
Matt Cardona is an American professional wrestler best known to mainstream audiences for his years in WWE as Zack Ryder.
During his WWE run, Cardona became a United States Champion, Intercontinental Champion and Tag Team Champion. He also developed a strong following through his use of social media and his “Long Island Iced Z” persona.
After leaving WWE, Cardona took a different approach to his career. Rather than relying on one major promotion, he became a prominent independent wrestler, appearing for numerous companies and collecting championships across the wrestling world.
That career reinvention became one of the defining chapters of his professional life.
How They Met
Green and Cardona began dating in January 2017.
Their relationship developed while both were already established figures within professional wrestling. Green had competed for promotions including TNA and other major independent organizations, while Cardona was still associated with WWE at the time.
Because they worked in the same industry, the couple understood the unusual demands of a wrestling career, including constant travel, physical risks and unpredictable schedules.
Their relationship eventually progressed from dating to engagement.
The Engagement
Cardona proposed to Green on her birthday in April 2019.
The engagement became an important milestone for the couple, although their wedding did not take place immediately. Their professional careers continued to evolve during the following years, including Green’s work across different wrestling promotions.
The pair ultimately waited more than two years before officially becoming husband and wife.
Their Wedding
Green and Cardona married on December 31, 2021.
The couple exchanged vows at El Castillo de la Rocka in Las Vegas, Nevada, on New Year’s Eve. The celebration brought together friends, family and numerous personalities from the wrestling world.
Choosing New Year’s Eve gave the occasion an additional significance: the couple entered a new year together as a married pair.
Their wedding also marked the beginning of another chapter in a relationship that had already lasted several years.
Wrestling Together
One of the more unusual aspects of Green and Cardona’s relationship is that their professional worlds frequently overlap.
The two have appeared together at wrestling events and have worked as an on-screen duo during parts of their careers on the independent circuit.
That familiarity can be an advantage in wrestling, where performers must understand timing, character work and storytelling. Green and Cardona have been able to bring their real-life relationship into performances without making it the sole focus of their careers.
Green later returned to WWE, where her character developed into one of the company’s most recognizable comedic and antagonistic personalities.
Cardona’s WWE Exit
Cardona’s post-WWE career has been markedly different from his time as Zack Ryder.
He left WWE in 2020 and quickly began rebuilding his reputation outside the company. Rather than waiting for another major promotion to define his career, he embraced independent wrestling and marketed himself as the “Indie God.”
The strategy paid off.
Cardona became a regular presence across independent promotions and won championships in several organizations. His willingness to reinvent his character and pursue opportunities outside WWE turned him into an example of how a wrestler can rebuild after leaving a major company.
The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast
Cardona is also closely associated with the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, which he hosts with fellow wrestler Brian Myers.
The podcast grew around the pair’s shared interest in wrestling action figures and collectibles. What began as a hobby-oriented project developed into a broader wrestling brand involving merchandise, collectibles and fan interaction.
Green has also appeared in or been connected with the podcast’s content, making it another area where the couple’s professional and personal worlds intersect.
Green’s WWE Career
While Cardona has made his name outside WWE, Green has become a prominent WWE star.
Her return to the company helped elevate her profile considerably. Known for her exaggerated character work, comic timing and willingness to embrace an intentionally over-the-top persona, Green has become one of WWE’s most distinctive performers.
Her success has also demonstrated that the couple’s careers do not depend on being in the same promotion.
Cardona has continued pursuing opportunities across independent wrestling, while Green has built her current WWE career.
A Wrestling Power Couple
Green and Cardona’s relationship is unusual because both partners understand the wrestling business from the inside.
They have experienced the travel, injuries, creative changes and career uncertainty that come with professional wrestling. At the same time, they have pursued different paths rather than attempting to build identical careers.
Cardona’s independent success and Green’s WWE rise have allowed each performer to develop a separate identity.
Their occasional collaborations simply add another dimension to their story.
Chelsea Green’s husband is Matt Cardona, the wrestler formerly known worldwide as Zack Ryder.
They started dating in January 2017, became engaged in April 2019 and married on December 31, 2021, in Las Vegas.
More than a married celebrity couple, Green and Cardona are both professional wrestlers who have built substantial careers in their own right. Their relationship has survived the demanding lifestyle of the wrestling business, while their professional journeys have taken increasingly different directions.
