Rhyno returned to WWE television sixteen months later on the February 27, 2003 episode of "SmackDown!", aligning himself with Chris Benoit and thus becoming a face for the first time in his WWE career. Rhyno and Benoit went on to unsuccessfully challenge Team Angle for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a triple threat tag team match (also involving Los Guerreros) at WrestleMania XIX. At Judgment Day, Rhyno teamed with Spanky, and Chris Benoit in a losing effort against John Cena and The Full Blooded Italians (Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli). At Vengeance, Rhyno turned on Benoit during a United States Championship match against Eddie Guerrero, thus turning heel once again. Rhyno continued to wrestle on "SmackDown!" pursuing the United States Championship on several occasions. At SummerSlam, Rhyno competed in a Fatal four-way match for the WWE United States Championship but failed to win the title. At the Royal Rumble, Rhyno competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match where he entered at #6 but was eliminated by Chris Benoit. In March 2004, Rhyno was drafted to the Raw brand in the 2004 WWE Draft Lottery. Later that night, he faced Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. The next week on Raw, he turned face again by first squashing then heel Lance Storm in a match and then forming a tag team with Tajiri. The duo challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions throughout 2004. In January 2005 on an episode of Raw, Rhyno lost a Royal Rumble qualifying match to Edge.