WWE: Why Zack Ryder Deserves Run With United States Championship

When WWE COO Triple H announced at the beginning of Raw on Monday night that Zack Ryder would receive a shot at Dolph Ziggler's United States Championship later in the night, the announcement was vindication for Ryder's legion of fans that have supported him while others have called him a glorified jobber.

Ryder may not have won the belt in his first shot at it, but there is no question that he deserves a run with the United States Championship. Ryder is a self-made man in the WWE who has gotten himself over without the help of Vince McMahon or the creative team.

After winning the Tag Team Championships with Curt Hawkins as a couple of Edge groupies, Ryder achieved little success as a singles competitor. He was repackaged on ECW as a goofy Jersey Shore-type character, although his character actually predated Jersey Shore's debut on television.

Ryder still didn't receive much notice from fans or the WWE brass, but all that changed when he began a YouTube series entitled Z! True Long Island Story. Ryder's show has made him an Internet sensation and made him incredibly popular in social networking circles such as Facebook and Twitter.

This spike in popularity has has led to increased appearances on Raw and the role of general manager Teddy Long's assistant on SmackDown. Despite his role as a comedic mid-carder, Ryder's fan support is incredible and he often garners the most signage from attending fans out of anyone.

He even created his own title, the Internet Championship, which he often showcases on his show. Ryder's popularity has simply become too great to ignore, and it's time to reward him for his efforts with an actual title. To be honest, all of the titles, particularly the mid-card titles, are just props with little meaning in today's WWE.

Holding the United States Championship does little for Ziggler, and if anything it is holding him back from main-event status. Taking the title off Ziggler and giving it to Ryder would be a win-win in that it would allow Ziggler to compete for the WWE Championship in the near future and it would get Ryder on television more and get him involved in more meaningful feuds.

Jack Swagger's interference in the Ziggler/Ryder match and Air Boom's subsequent run seems to suggest that Swagger and Ziggler will be teaming up to go after the Tag Team Championships. While The Miz held the United States and Tag Team Championships at the same time, it would be beneficial to take the strap off Ziggler while he teams with Swagger.

No match has been announced for Hell in a Cell yet, but Triple H could easily schedule an impromptu match between Ziggler and Ryder due to Swagger's interference on Monday. In the end, the United States Championship may not mean much, but Ryder deserves it for how far he has come over the past couple years.

Ryder's gimmick won't allow him to advance much further than mid-card status, but that isn't too bad for a guy who has been rumored to have been on WWE's chopping block numerous times since 2009. A United States Championship win would be the ultimate coup for Ryder.

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