Who is Cody Rhodes' best friend? Know why he can't show up for his friend

Cody Rhodes is one of the most popular babyfaces on the WWE roster today and is well-liked by his peers. The American Nightmare is also friends with a lot of superstars who are no longer under WWE contract. That brings us to the question: Who is Cody Rhodes’ best friend?

Fans will be surprised to know that Matt Cardona (formerly known as Zack Ryder) is best friends with Cody Rhodes. He is currently a major player on the independent circuit, and that is one of the reasons he can’t show up to help his friend against the likes of Brock Lesnar and Dominik Mysterio.

The two have been friends for decades and even made their WWE main roster debut in 2007. Cardona cited Cody's indy run as an inspiration for his own experiment with independent promotions after he left WWE in April 2020. The American Nightmare reflected on his friend's indy run during a recent interview.

"I'm really proud of him, he's out there doing the indie guy thing with the Indiana Jones hats," Cody said. "Matt has been king of the indies now, this is going on year two, you usually only get one run in that role, he's going on year two."

Cardona made his debut in the rebranded ECW as Brett Major but was quickly drafted to SmackDown alongside Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers) as Major Brothers. The duo interfered in the main event of Armageddon 2007 to help Edge retain his World Heavyweight Championship.

Both Cody Rhodes and his best friend in the business spent their rookie years in the WWE tag team division. The American Nightmare turned heel by aligning with Ted Dibiase Jr. The duo would ultimately join Randy Orton to form The Legacy.

It is worth noting that Cody and Cardon were both part of heel stables during their initial years in WWE. The Legacy terrorized RAW during Orton’s infamous feud against the McMahons and Triple H. Edge and the Edgeheads, meanwhile, dominated SmackDown against the likes of Batista and The Undertaker.

Cody Rhodes once took the blame for an AEW star's Royal Rumble photo

The American Nightmare has made a lot of friends in the wrestling business. AEW sensation Ricky Starks has said in the past that Cody Rhodes is his best friend. A picture of the Absolute One even went viral after he was caught on camera walking backstage with Cody at the 2023 Royal Rumble Premium Live Event.

The RAW superstar talked about the photo during an appearance on the Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin. Cody took full blame for the backstage photo that caused a lot of buzz on the internet. Read his comments below:

“I’ll take full blame. My fault. It was a friend coming to see me in a very big, truly emotional moment. To lose your confidence as an athlete, a fighter, and entertainer; to get back up off the mat, and not just get back up, you have to be at the level you were. I liked having people in my circle around me.” (H/T Fightful)

Ricky Starks is currently involved in a feud with Bullet Club Gold in AEW.

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