How Did Cobra Kai’s Ralph Macchio and William Zabka Reunite on How I Met Your Mother?

1984’s The Karate Kid is arguably the greatest martial arts drama of all time, and that’s why it’s such a pleasure seeing people’s interest in the genre rekindled by its sequel, the Cobra Kai show.

Netflix ’s dramedy series has Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from the original movie, but few Cobra Kai fans know they already reunited 5 years before the launch of this hit series.

HIMYM’s Barney Stinson Is a Huge Fan of The Karate Kid, but There Is a Catch

Back in 2009, the martial arts gem was mentioned on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, where the womanizer Barney Stinson opens up about the real hero of The Karate Kid.

In The Stinsons (S04E15) Barney confesses he regrets that Johnny was beaten up by “the scrawny loser from New Jersey who barely even knows karate,” i.e. Daniel. So it is William Zabka’s antagonist who is the OG Karate Kid for him.

Macchio and Zabka Guest-Starred Together in One Episode of HIMYM

Later in the show, in 2013’s episode The Bro Mitzvah (S08E22) that focuses on Barney’s bachelor party, the gang surprised their friend by showing him they invited Ralph Macchio, causing Barney’s anger because he’s “the wrong karate kid."

Luckily, it was part of the joke, as William Zabka spends the whole party dressed as a clown and eventually reveals himself, to Barney’s relief. The Johnny actor then thanks him for understanding the true point of the movie, and this scene is truly comedy gold.

How Did HIMYM Predict Cobra Kai?

HIMYM’s storyline about Barney’s opinion towards The Karate Kid is strangely reminiscent of the very concept of Cobra Kai. The point is, this series gives a balanced perspective for Johnny and Daniel and shows that the seemingly bad guy isn’t so bad.

The showrunner Josh Heald himself admitted that HIMYM’s episodes mentioning the 1984 film “kind of buoyed” them while they were pitching the idea of Cobra Kai.

“It made us feel confident that we weren't the only ones, and we didn't think we were, but it was nice to see other creators have Karate Kid on the mind," he said.

The first part of Cobra Kai Season 5 is now available for streaming on Netflix.