Joe Doering
On December 12, 2020 at Final Resolution, during a match between Eric Young and Rhyno, Cody turned heel and attacked his tag team partner Cousin Jake, thus ending the Deaners tag team and aligning himself with Young and Joe Doering. After numerous video packages hinting at a character change, Deaner debuted a new look consisting of a shorter beard, a shaved head and all black attire on the January 5, 2021 edition of Impact!. In the same episode he and Joe Doering defeated Rhino and Cousin Jake. On Impact's website, it was revealed his ring name was shortened to simply Deaner. At Hard to Kill, Deaner, Doering, and Young began going under the name Violent By Design (VBD), as they defeated Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, and Cousin Jake.