In February of 2006 Zach Ryder had signed a developmental contracts with the WWE along with Curt Hawkins. In early 2007 they started wrestling in dark matches for RAW while competing in OVW. On May 1, 2007 Hawkins and Ryder made their WWE debut on ECW by defeating Matt Striker and Marcos Cor Van. At this time they were known as the Major Brothers. Zach Ryder was known as Brett Major and his partner as Brian Major. They were not on ECW for too long as they were drafted to Smackdown in June, 2007 during the 2007 WWE draft. The team was impressive winning matches but then suffered a loss to Deuce and Domino in August of 2007. After that they would not be seen wrestling on Smackdown for a couple of months. In November they tried for the tag team titles but lost to the odd tag team of MVP and Matt Hardy. At Armageddon things changed for Zach.While Edge was competing in a World Heavyweight Championship match both Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder turned heel by posing as look alikes for Edge and helping Edge in the match. They were later revealed to be close acquaintances to both Edge and Vickie Guerrero. Curt and Zach were repackaged as the Edgeheads and the Major Brothers no longer existed, it was now Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder. Zach Ryder became part of La Familia, a group of heels led by Edge.
Hawkins and Ryder started competing in major events and on July 20, 2008 at the Great American Bash they won the tag team titles by winning a four team tag team match. They would hold the WWE tag team titles until the September 26, 2008 edition of Smackdown when they were beat by Carlito & Primo Colon.
On April 15, 2009, Ryder was drafted back to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft, separating the team. Ryder re-debuted on ECW on Sci Fi on May 5, 2009 with a new look, in a backstage promo with Tiffany. His new look featured short hair, sunglasses, a purple headband, and frequent use of the catch phrase "Woo Woo Woo". Ryder's first match since the draft was on WWE Superstars on May 7, 2009 in a losing effort against Finlay. On the May 19 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Ryder picked up his first victory since rejoining the ECW roster when he defeated Adam Green. Ryder then started a small feud with Shelton Benjamin.
Zack Ryder Facts:
Birth Name: Matthew Cardona
Birth Date: May 14, 1985
Height: 6 ft 1 in