Cody Rhodes Praises Zack Ryder After His WWE Release

Zack Ryder was one of the many active wrestlers who was released by WWE on Wednesday, bringing an end to his 14-year run with the company. Ryder famously became an Internet sensation back in the early 2010s with his YouTube series Z! True Long Island Story, and while WWE didn't sustain his push in 2011 he still finished his career with one reign as United States Champion, one as Intercontinental Champion and two as tag team champion alongside Curt Hawkins.

AEW star an Ryder's personal friend Cody Rhodes took to Instagram after the news of his release dropped, praising Ryder for his ability to connect with fans and saying wth upmost certainty that he could "get over" again.

View this post on Instagram

I’d like to take a moment to say how proud I am to be a friend of @zryder85 - In a world of weekend warriors and “play wrestlers”, this dude exudes passion and drive for pro-wrestling like no other. Through 14 years to see him CONSISTENTLY try to better himself(whether that be his in-ring work, or watching him physically mold himself and his body into such a specimen DRUG FREE with hard work and will). I have a little rule, and that’s that if you’ve ever “gotten over” in wrestling...you can always do so again. That rule being fully applicable to Matt now. At 34 years young, his best wrestling days are ahead of him. Cheers to a great start and 14 years of unrelenting blood, sweat, and tears. Future endeavors are limitless when you actually endeavor. I chose this picture because it was one of my last days at WWE, watching 80,000+ people applaud as Matt won gold was an eruption not only live in the arena but in the locker room as well. Hearing Dolph coordinate for his father to come over the rails(meanwhile I was ass deep into a broken ladder and stuck but had the best seat in the house) and seeing father/son embrace, I thought I’d be jealous or bitter, but I was truly happy and proud for one of my peers. Congratulations my friend, and good luck!

A post shared by Cody Rhodes (@americannightmarecody) on Apr 15, 2020 at 7:31pm PDT

Ryder thanked Rhodes down in the comment section.

Whether or not Rhodes' praise for Ryder means the former WWE Internet Champion will wind up in AEW someday remains to be seen.