Examining Zack Ryder's Direction, Upside and Long-Term Potential

There is an unmistakable disconnect between what Zack Ryder's most ardent followers believe he is capable of and what WWE thinks of him.

The portion of the crowd that buys into his energy and personality believes the company is holding him back. WWE has shown that it doesn't think Ryder is much more than an end-of-the-bench player.

He hasn't been engrossing enough on the mic or in the ring to change that position. But movement, temporary as it may be, is underfoot. 

Years after his peak in popularity, Ryder is enjoying a sudden, surprise surge. Thrust into a WWE Intercontinental Championship ladder match along with a host of other challengers, a WrestleMania moment potentially awaits him.

That follows a long stretch of the former U.S. champ struggling to get airtime and remain relevant.

WWE's approach has mostly been to stick him on the C-level shows (Main Event, Superstars) and have him appear on NXT as one half of The Hype Bros. His partnership with Mojo Rawley has seemingly been more about getting the upstart going, using Ryder as a veteran for him to lean on.

For a guy who was once notably popular, once the U.S. titleholder and in the middle of a feud between Kane and John Cena, this was certainly a demotion.

Neville's ankle injury, though, opened up a more prominent spot for Ryder.

He not only found himself in the IC title field but was the man left standing in a brawl among all of the combatants of the upcoming ladder match. Ryder took down Kevin Owens on Thursday's SmackDown, eliciting a shocked response from Jerry Lawler.

"Zack Ryder? You got to be kidding me!" he said.

The tone of Lawler's voice in that moment speaks to how low on the food chain Ryder has been. His fans have long wanted to see him move up and for WWE to make more use of his charisma.

Strengths

Ryder's best asset is his charm. He's likable and funny, and has largely built his fanbase on those elements of his act. 

When WWE chose to ignore him, Ryder used social media and YouTube to garner his own momentum. His Internet show, Z! True Long Island Story, allowed him to catch fire in 2011.

The fact that this led to his winning the United States Championship at the close of that year is a testament to how infectious Ryder can be. He doesn't boast elite magnetism a la someone such as The Rock, but his presence is good enough to help him stand out from the rest of the midcarders.

In the ring, he is athletic and quick but not special in either category.

He's clearly a hard worker, looking to make the most of each match, no matter how short or insignificant. In that way, he's a poor man's Dolph Ziggler. 

And even though much of his action has come on the little-seen Superstars of late, he has been upping his game. As LaToya Ferguson of the A.V. Club pointed out in emphatic fashion, he's putting on his best work on the mat:

Had those performances come on a bigger stage and with bigger stakes, it's possible he could have recaptured that brief, magical connection he had with the audience in 2011. Blockades aplenty stand in his way, though.

Obstacles

For fans to start viewing Ryder as anything other than chum thrown into the water for the sharks of the squared circle, it will take quite the effort. WWE has booked him as an afterthought for so long that it will be hard to shake that perception of him.

Even when WWE added him to the IC title match, it did so in a backhanded way. Owens introduced Ryder, Stardust and Sin Cara in a No. 1 contender's match as less threatening alternatives to the guys he didn't want to face. 

That led Kenny Herzog of Rolling Stone to ask, "Is anyone expecting Stardust, Zack Ryder (who at least is getting his 'Mania moment) or Sin Cara to believably compete after they were belittled last night in service of conveying KO's cowardice?"

Not with so little time before now and WrestleMania. There is too much of a history of losing to overcome. As seen on his CageMatch.net profile, Ryder has been on the wrong side of matches again and again.  

Year	Record	Winning Percentage
2012	23-37-2	.371
2013	9-35	.205
2014	2-17	.105
2015	19-30	.388
2016	17-9-1	.412

A winning streak here and a major upset would go a long way in changing how the audience perceives him, but when it's his time to stand in the spotlight, will he just try to be 2011 Ryder?

His happy-go-lucky, Long Island-bro shtick was fun five years ago, but it's not an act that lends itself to evolution. Making it fresh and compelling again will be tough. And Ryder hasn't shown the kind of range he would need to play something vastly different.

His output on the mat won't be of much help either.

Ryder is a solid-not-spectacular wrestler. A long list of wrestlers are more thrilling. Many are better overall performers. Even at his best, he will struggle to compete with WWE's elite performers, from Seth Rollins to Kevin Owens.

When Cena held the U.S. title and invited a new foe to take him on each week, masterpieces aired on TV. Cesaro, Neville, Sami Zayn and others excelled in this spot. Ryder's match with Cena was merely passable.

Great showings in the ring are often how underutilized stars force WWE to pay attention to them. Ryder won't have that tool at his disposal.

Long-Term Potential

The safe bet is that Ryder sticks around the midcard for a few more years and is eventually released. Emerging stars will rise to the top. Newcomers such as AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura will claim prominent spots.

Ryder will be even less of a priority. 

In 2011, it looked like Ryder was going to be a bigger part of the company. Smith Hart was among those who foresaw big things for him back then:

But WWE has shown that it hasn't been nearly as smitten with him as his fans were. The company had him follow his reaching his peak with going on a series of uphill climbs afterward.

The kind of connection Ryder had, though, makes one think that another stretch of success is possible. Another championship could be the culmination of his story. With only average ring skills and a gimmick that may have run its course, that title is more likely to be of the tag team variety.

Alongside another wrestler, he wouldn't need to carry the in-ring load as much. He can pair his charisma with an in-ring workhorse and ascend the tag team ladder for a spell. That won't come with Rawley as his partner, however. 

That team is a second banana paired with a third banana. Ryder is better off as the Robin to someone else's Batman.

Be sure to check out previous editions of this ongoing series:

• Becky Lynch
• Neville
• Adam Rose
• Luke Harper
• Tyler Breeze