Zack Ryder was surprisingly released by WWE on April 15 and immediately, the CodyEar.Gif became a thing. Cody and Ryder are good friends away from wrestling and the AEW Co-Executive Vice President took to Instagram following Ryder's release to praise his talent and wish him well.
So, is Zack Ryder bound to end up in AEW when his no-complete clause expires?
"Zack Ryder is the best," said Cody during an Instagram Live Q&A. "He's got over two million followers on Twitter and over a million followers on Instagram. Very broad influence, incredibly famous, more famous than many guys out there. But that doesn't always translate. The biggest hurdle he'll face is his friendship with me. He's one of my only really close friends in wrestling. Maybe my only friend in wrestling. I have my brother (in AEW), I have my beautiful wife, and they all do the work. This can't be All Friends Wrestling. You have to handle it the best way. If you put on the Nightmare Family jacket, you've got a massive bullseye on your back, just in the locker room alone. It's a total heat seeker. But I'm looking forward to what he does next. He'll turn a lot of heads. I think and hope our paths will cross down the road. He's just entering wrestler prime. Men's wrestler prime is 35 to 40."
Ryder has said that he will not take bookings during the pandemic as he doesn't want to disappoint fans in case shows get canceled.
As far as another released talent is concerned, Cody gave a firm "no" on Heath Slater potentially joining AEW, though he was likely joking.
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