The past couple of weeks have seen an immense amount of change in WWE. Many wrestlers have been released, with their runs in the company coming to an end. There have also been many debuts on Raw and SmackDown, including Ethan Page, Fatal Influence, and Joe Hendry. Another wrestler who has made his debut recently was Ricky Saints. He wrapped up a really good NXT run and made his WWE SmackDown debut on the May 1, 2026, episode.
Interrupting the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Ricky Saints wanted to make an impact from the start. He challenged Rhodes to a match, which became official later that night. It was a good fight put up by him, but Rhodes retained the championship, allowing him to be challenged by Gunther the following week for Clash in Italy. Even though he suffered a loss, it was a definitely successful main roster debut for Saints. Will this motivation lead him to a victory against Matt Cardona?
Ricky Saints Gets His First Main Roster Win Over Cardona
Saints came to SmackDown after a great 14-month run in NXT. He was consistently in the title picture, getting huge victories and some championship gold for himself. Last year, he was NXT North American Champion for 56 days and NXT Champion for 70 days. He showed everyone his athleticism and wrestling ability. It was clear that going to the main roster was an inevitability for him.
That same success hasn’t been there for Matt Cardona. Officially returning to WWE on the January 2 SmackDown, he beat Kit Wilson in a quick match. However, that was the last time he’s won on Friday nights. He’s lost to Aleister Black, Randy Orton, and Trick Williams twice. However, he wasn’t a part of the massive roster cuts in the past couple of weeks. Could this be a sign that he’ll get a surprise victory at some point?
The two men met on the May 8 SmackDown for a singles match. They both want a win, so they’ll be fighting as hard as they can to get it. The match started with them locking up and going to the corner. That led to RickySaints pushing Cardona and getting him in a headlock. He got out of it, but was pushed down to the ground. Saints did his signature pose, mocking him when he was still down. But he got back up and knocked him down, just like what happened to him moments before.
He got him up, got him in the corner, and started punching him. Ricky Saints tripped him, causing him to fall face-first into the turnbuckles, and then more kicks and punches started to rain down on him. He got chopped, but then he turned the tables once again. Elbowing Ricky Saints, he slammed him down to the mat and punched him in the corner. He was going to kick him, but Saints ran out of the ring at the very last second.
That led to a boot to the face and a meltdown before entering the ring again. They locked back up, with Cardona making a failed pin attempt. He kneed Saints in the face, then clotheslined him. A forearm smash and another knee were applied, but once again, he couldn’t get the cover. Saints had a pin attempt of his own, but Cardona kicked out.
He got dumped onto the mat, but dodged a Rough Ryder before anything could happen to him. However, the move hit after he got back in the ring, but again, he kicked out.
Ricky Saints responded with a Revolution DDT and a Roshambo, enough for him to get the pinfall and the victory. Even though it was a hard-fought battle, Saints ended up with his first victory on the main roster. Given his talent, it’s only a matter of time before he gets some major championship opportunities.
