WWE: Has Zack Ryder Gone as Far Up in Popularity as He Can?

This week is the expected release of the 62nd episode of Z! True Long Island Story, the YouTube-based show that turned Zack Ryder from glorified jobber to one of the biggest fan favorites in all of WWE. The show has gradually turned from being about Ryder's inability to get noticed in WWE to a way for Ryder to connect with his fans and stay relevant in the spotlight of WWE. It has led to more Ryder matches and even a United States Championship reign. Ryder is now off of that momentum, but will that be the best that Ryder can do in WWE?

It was a risky choice by Ryder to start the show at all. He could have been fired by WWE for his criticism of his booking and the shots at the company who was employing him. This doesn't even cover the copyrighted WWE property that Ryder used, which could have easily gotten him in hot water. Instead, WWE took a liking to it.

Their YouTube channel wasn't getting the traffic that Ryder's one show alone was getting. Keep in mind that WWE was putting up entire episodes of Smackdown, Superstars and NXT, along with classic matches and entrance videos. One show from a guy that was barely seen on Superstars each week was outperforming on YouTube, a form of social media that WWE was not mastering. Even with his episodes on the WWE YouTube channel now, his other videos on his channel, which feature Ryder and his friends being random, get more views than segments of matches from Smackdown or RAW.

Along with other underutilized performers like Scott Stanford and Primo, as well as his friends from home and his father, Ryder created a series of characters to see each week in random spots mostly centered around how underwhelming Ryder's impact in WWE was. In the early episodes, it was almost like Ryder was walking the line with the company, while also preparing his fanbase for a pink slip heading his way. He used insider terms and criticized WWE in a tongue-in-cheek way, stating that WWE was dropping the ball and missing the boat with him.

The response from fans was incredible. Fans from all over were becoming "broskis." Fans at live events would wear CM Punk or John Cena shirts, while holding Zack Ryder signs and later wearing Broski headbands. He gets a decent pop still, especially in the New York area, where he is a hometown favorite. Beyond that, Ryder seems to be rather basic in the ring, pretty simple on the microphone and his charisma seems to be limited. There's only so much bad acting and puns with the word "bro" in it can do.

Now that Ryder's shows are featured on WWE's YouTube page, not as many people have watched. A lot of that has been due to the lack of a comments section with WWE videos, which has since been rectified. At worst during the 50 episodes Ryder published on his own channel, an episode generated 171,000 views. In 12 episodes to hit WWE's YouTube site, only two episodes have amassed more than 200,000 views. Last week's episode has only garnered 113,000 views, an all-time low in the history of the show. The 50 episodes on his own page generated 12 million views for his page, while those posted for WWE have reached just over 1 million with about 20 percent of the content.

There was a desire for Ryder merchandise, but Ryder now has gear at a John Cena-esque level. Ryder has had such gems as foam fists, a growth chart to see if you can grow to Ryder's billed 6'2" and headbands with hair attached to it. Now Ryder has an augmented reality t-shirt, which has the Statue of "Li-Bro-ty" come to life when using your smartphone.

WWE has certainly taken notice of the drop-off of his popularity. His losing streak as of late is no fluke. His spot in the John Cena/Kane feud made him extremely weak and vulnerable. Ryder is in a strange place where his popularity is still selling merchandise, but his in-ring product needs a change.

How can you change a gimmick for a guy who is selling out merchandise left and right?

Still, it is hard to figure out what kind of gimmick change could really be done. The gimmick, by and large, works for Ryder, but the traits he has limit him as a superstar. Could you really see him as WWE Champion? To those who say yes, seriously think about it. This isn't like having Santino Marella or another comedic superstar as the world champion. This is a young superstar with talent and a gimmick that works, but certainly not quite world title material.

Much like Kofi Kingston, the mid-card is about as high as this guy can go with the way things are.

Is this the end of the love affair with Zack Ryder? Probably not. However, WWE trying to shove Ryder down the throats of viewers leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. This guy became a relevant superstar because of the people and he is only sticking around in the spotlight because of the creative staff. I doubt it is a case of Ryder feeling a backlash and sour grapes from the company for being more successful than they are at something and creating a good character with a nice following without WWE's assistance.

Keep watching the videos, if you do anymore. Buy more Ryder merchandise for the guy who still claims to be off the radar. Take care, spike your hair and all of that stuff. The Ryder Revolution is slowly coming to a halt with its momentum. Enjoy the last drops of fun you can before this idea runs dry.

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