WWE: Can Zack Ryder Be Salvaged from His Current Disaster of a Storyline?

You have to feel bad for Zack Ryder.

In early 2011, faced with a floundering career and stuck in C show hell, the Long Island native resolved to do something to raise his profile in WWE and get on the radar of management and the fans.

So, using up his free time and own money, he created Z! True Long Island Story, a wickedly entertaining and funny YouTube show which follows the adventures of Zack, his friends and family (including his dad, the eccentric but lovable Mr. Ryder).

As most know, the show worked like a charm, rejuvenating Ryder’s stagnant career, winning him some powerful friends in the locker room (most notably John Cena) and earning him an established spot on the card. Amazingly, Ryder had went from being a no-name jobber to one of the most popular and beloved acts on the roster. He even won the US Title from Dolph Ziggler at the TLC pay-per-view last December and main evented Raw the following evening.  

Alas, it couldn’t last. And in the last few months the YouTube sensation has seen his once-promising career spiral out of control, going from talented up-and-comer to lovesick, gullible geek who has become a joke to many fans.

The blame lies, mainly, on his involvement in the risible John Cena/Kane storyline and his subsequent heartbreak at the hands of conniving WWE diva Eve Torres.

He spent January and February being thrown around like a ragdoll by Kane, who felt that by targeting Ryder he could convince Cena to “embrace the hate.” This was an awful angle with some truly cringe worthy segments (most noticably, Zack struggling to change Eve’s tire as they ran from a pursuing Kane).

Zack never got his revenge on the monster either—nor did he ever seek it—which served to make him look worse in the eyes of the WWE universe (babyfaces are supposed to get their revenge of they’re wronged, you know, that’s why we love them)

Then, of course, this lame, badly-acted soap opera continued as a heartbroken Ryder caught Eve making out with John Cena backstage, something that ended his once-strong friendship with Cena. The diabolical Eve later revealed on TV that she was simply using both men to help boost her profile in WWE and make herself more famous.  

So, the YouTube star was now done with Eve, right? As any sensible person with a shred of self-respect would be?

Eh, not exactly. In March, she randomly claimed she had changed her mind and wanted Ryder romantically. He was ecstatic. Of course, she continued to toy with him, once agreeing to go on a date with him later that night and then standing him up.  

Regardless of her shoddy, callous treatment of him, the foolish Ryder remained completely infatuated, even bringing her to ringside at WM 28 for the GM match so she could support him (Zack was a member of Team Teddy).  As we now know, this backfired badly and Eve turned on her boyfriend (once again) costing Team Teddy the match.

How stupidly had the former US Champion behaved? Well, the following evening on Raw during his match with The Miz (Ryder lost, of course), heel commentator Michael Cole noted how idiotically Ryder has behaved (trusting Eve even after she claimed she didn’t care about him, bringing her to ringside, etc.) and was actually, well, spot on. It was hard to disagree with anything Cole said.  

Back when Eve and Ryder first got back together on-screen it was suggested that this whole thing was a ruse on Ryder’s part, and he was in fact intending to publicly embarrass and dump the Diva Search winner. Of course, this didn’t happen, which is a shame because it would have been a rewarding pay off for such a mediocre angle.  

We must ask: Could Ryder have come out of this angle looking worse? It would be hard to see how. His actions over the past few months have been incredibly stupid and greatly damaged credibility with the members of the WWE Universe. Fans like their babyfaces to be ass-kicking rebels, not lovesick fools.

So, Ryder fans must be wondering: can their hero be salvaged from this abysmal angle?

Well, it has been reported that the star will soon be linked romantically on-screen with a returning Layla El. Per the leaked plans, the two will team up to take revenge on Torres, who after all her despicable actions in recent weeks surely needs to get her comeuppance soon.

Will this new storyline help Ryder’s plummeting career status? Who knows?

While Layla is one of the talented women WWE currently have on their roster, it remains doubtful whether getting involved on WWE television with another diva can help him recover from his last disastrous angle with a female wrestler.

It may just be better for Ryder to move on from Eve and find something else to do. It’s extremely difficult to see how he can ever benefit from being associated with her on-screen.

Summarily, Ryder is going to have to work incredibly hard to recover from his current career lull and the damage done to his character after his disastrous angle with Eve. He is also going to need some help from WWE bookers to regain his previous status. Ideally, they will help him by scripting him to get revenge on Eve or by putting him in a whole new program.

Of course whether or not he gets this help from WWE scribes remains to be seen. After all, it’s not like they’ve done him any favours so far.