and "had a bunch of fun". Given that his main aim as a performer was "to get the audience to feel something, to evoke some kind of emotion", Haddad had no regrets leaving since he felt he "took the audience through the whole spectrum of emotions in four years": first "there was an extreme feeling of dislike towards" the Sandow character upon its debut, and years later, the Mizdow character was cheered to a point that "there are guys that are in the main event that don't get cheers like that". As for his release, Haddad was "not really" surprised as he thought he "had gone through the gamut" with the impersonator character. Describing himself as an empathetic individual, Haddad had "no problem" with WWE giving other wrestlers television time at his expense so that they could "show their craft" and become popular, while he was already popular whatever "spot" WWE put him. Although there were several alternate options of using Haddad, including "repackaging" his character, "doing a parody of current events", or becoming a commentator, ultimately, Haddad did not "fit" into WWE's plans. Return to the independent circuit (2016, 2019–present) After being released from WWE, Haddad announced on his official Twitter account that he would once again be taking independent bookings, returning to his Aron Stevens ring name. He said he "took select dates" for wrestling, wanting to "say thank you to the fans", "to meet them, and have a chance to talk to them". His first independent appearance was on June 11 at a co-promoted show organized by Global Force Wrestling (GFW) and WrestlePro, where he defeated Colt Cabana. Haddad also made appearances at Warriors of Wrestling and Tier 1 Wrestling events. On June 14, 2016, Haddad signed for What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) and was scheduled to debut the weekend of July 27–28, 2016. He was victorious in his debut match, where he defeated Doug Williams to become the #1 contender for the WCPW Championship. After a two-year hiatus, he made his return to the ring in July 2019 under a new gimmick, the Millennial Slayer. On July 18, Sandow wrestled his first match back, at a Battle Arts Academy show under the name Aron Stevens. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling (2016–2017) On August 10, 2016, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) released a promo teasing the acquisition of Stevens. On the August 11, 2016 episode of Impact