The Parallels of Cody Rhodes and Matt Cardona's Return to WWE

Cody Rhodes and Matt Cardona made returns to WWE at different times but their are parallels to their returns

The start of 2026 brought a big return to WWE. Matt Cardona, who was known as Zack Ryder during his initial run with WWE, appeared on the January 2nd edition of Friday Night SmackDown. The difference between this appearance and his earlier appearance in the “Last Time is Now” tournament was that this time Cardona appeared as a signed member of the WWE roster. Cardona is not the first former WWE superstar to make a return to the promotion after an extended time away. Both Matt Cardona and Cody Rhodes made returns to WWE after success in other promotions. Let’s run down the major parallels between their returns to WWE.

Reinvented Themselves on the Independent Circuit

Cody left WWE in 2016, while Cardona was let go in 2020. Although the independent landscape was very different when they left WWE, they both headed to the independent circuit to reinvent themselves.

Cody was looking to shed the damage done by the Stardust gimmick to the perception of his character. Cody came into the independent circuit with the “American Nightmare” gimmick. A callback to the “American Dream” gimmick that his father, Dusty Rhodes, was synonymous with. The gimmick was the complete opposite of the eccentric Stardust character that was based on the Goldust gimmick portrayed by his brother Dustin Rhodes for much of his wrestling career. The American Nightmare gimmick was a no-nonsense passionate wrestler that wanted to honor the traditions and legacies of the pro wrestling business. He was able to utilize this gimmick effectively as both a face and a heel. Rhodes traveled to different promotions and presented himself similarly to the way that a territory day wrestler would have before the rise of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1980s.

Fans responded well to the gimmick change, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like Cody Rhodes was able to be himself in the ring and on the microphone. The American Nightmare would go on to have marquee matches in Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and other independent promotions.

Matt Cardona also went through a re-invention on the independent scene. Most notably in Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). Cardona was never known for doing hardcore matches in WWE. Which was why it was surprising to see him step into a GCW ring against Nick Gage, who is a well known deathmatch wrestler. Cardona proved he could hold his own in a deathmatch as he defeated Gage to win the GCW World Championship in a bloody and brutal deathmatch and went on to defend it in matches that no one could have predicted he would find himself in just a year earlier. With Cardona being the complete opposite of everything GCW represented, he was an easy target for the hardcore GCW fans to gang up on and boo out of the building.

He also went on to collect many independent championships from different promotions and would become known as the “Indie God” stepping into the doors of any independent promotion and taking over. Both of these gimmicks are a stark difference from the fun-loving Zack Ryder, who was frequently booked to lose matches in a WWE ring. He was able to use the arrogance of winning the belts to have a heel personality in the ring and get fans to cheer against him. This was a far cry from the fan pleasing Zack Ryder personality in WWE.

Both men left the WWE ring and stepped into the independent ring to reinvent their characters and become ingrained in fans’ minds as serious contenders anytime they enter a ring.

Left the Comedic Gimmick Behind

As mentioned earlier, Cody left WWE in 2016 after an eight-year run on the main roster and two year run in the developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) territory. The end of his WWE run saw him portraying an over-the-top comedic Stardust character. The character was meant to mirror that of the Goldust character, portrayed by his brother Dustin Rhodes, and the two did team together for a bit during this part of Cody’s WWE career. Although the character did get a reaction from the fans in attendance, it became clear that Rhodes wanted to move on from the character. He asked for his release in 2016, citing issues with his creative and positioning within WWE. Rhodes left the comedic and hokey gimmick in the rearview and has not looked back since.

Cardona, on the other hand, was able to do this to an extent while still in WWE. After the “La Familia” stable broke up, he adopted the loudmouth goofy Long Island Iced Z gimmick that would be part of his WWE career until his departure in 2020. Although he toned down the goofiness of the gimmick in the second half of his WWE run, some core elements remained. We saw the goofiness go away in exchange for a more smug and arrogant heel that used the previous goofy elements as a parody to get under the skin of fans (mainly in GCW).

Used Social Media to Their Advantage

WWE evolved to include social media in their programming to advance storylines in the 2010s, one of the earliest adopters was Matt Cardona/Zack Ryder. He utilized channels such as YouTube and Twitter to connect with the WWE audience outside of the weekly television programs. This practice continued for the rest of his WWE career, and his online following went with him after he returned to the independent scene. He continues to be one of the most active and engaging wrestlers on social media, constantly engaging with fans in Kayfabe to progress his character when the cameras are not rolling.

Cody followed a similar formula. After leaving WWE in 2016, Cody began using Twitter to communicate with fans directly. He would constantly respond to fans who would tweet him. His most famous use of Twitter was responding to a tweet from Dave Meltzer, who claimed that Ring of Honor could not sell out a 10,000-seat arena in the United States. Cody responded, saying he would take that bet and put together “All In” in 2018, which served as the precursor to All Elite Wrestling. All In felt like the wrestling community coming together to support independent wrestling. This feeling was constantly conveyed when Cody would use social media to communicate with fans. It felt as if he was building a community around him for those who loved professional wrestling and wanted an alternative to what was happening in WWE.

Both men were able to reinvent themselves in similar ways using the independent wrestling circuit, adjusting gimmicks, and using social media to promote themselves and communicate directly to fans to advance storylines. This all culminated in their respective returns to the WWE.

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What do you think of Cardona’s return to WWE? Do you see parallels between his return and the return of Cody Rhodes? Sound off in the comments below.

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