WWE: Why Zack Ryder Will Win the United States Championship

Zack Ryder will win the United States Championship.

It’s not a matter of "if," it’s a matter of "when."

Why do I think so? Well, because—perhaps more than any other superstar in the WWE—Ryder deserves it.

"Long Island Iced Z" has transcended from an Internet favorite to a legitimate mid-card player in a matter of months. He’s no longer just some funny jobber with a great Twitter account and an even better YouTube series.

He’s become a wrestler with a solid gimmick, a recognizable fan base and the ability to put on some high-quality matches, especially for a guy who’s had such little TV exposure so far in his career.

Ryder has undoubtedly moved his way up the WWE totem pole through hard work and dedication.

And he’s about to rewarded for it with a United States title reign.

Some of you may disagree, and say that Ryder’s Guido/Jersey Shore-type gimmick is too comedic for him to ever be taken seriously as a main event-caliber talent. But guys with great comedic talent—The Rock, Chris Jericho, Triple H, etc.—have grown into some of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying Ryder’s on their levels. At all. But he shouldn’t be dismissed as a future star in the WWE because he’s a bit of a jokester, even if it means he’ll never win a world championship.

That may be true, but at the moment, Ryder’s a great fit to be the next United States Champion.

As if his improvements over the last several months weren’t enough to make sure Ryder has gold around his waist in the near future, he’s all got something else working out in his favor: the inevitable rise to superstardom of Dolph Ziggler.

Whether you’re a fan of Ziggler or not, you absolutely cannot deny that he’s well on his way to becoming one of the top wrestlers on Monday Night RAW. There are two wrestlers in the WWE who I view as the potential “next big thing”—Cody Rhodes is one, and Ziggler is the other.

He’s always had a boatload of charisma, and his in-ring skills are among the top five (maybe even top three) in the entire company. But the way that Ziggler has progressed on the microphone in 2011 leads me to believe that he’s a good storyline away from contending for the WWE Championship. 

Obviously, that will do wonders for Ziggler’s career, but it’s really going to help out Ryder as well

If Ziggler is going to move on to RAW’s main-event scene in the near future like I think he will, then he needs someone to step into RAW’s upper mid-card scene and carry it as the US Champion.

I can think of no one better to do just that than Ryder.

After five-plus years, Ryder has certainly “paid his dues,” and WWE officials finally seem to have a lot of faith in the guy.

He was recently paired with John Cena in a RAW main event (though he never got to wrestle in it), and he’s gotten three victories over Ziggler, who I believe is the man who is currently holding the US title.

Oh yeah, he is.

So, if Ziggler keeps losing to Ryder (yet still staying over as one of RAW’s top heels), then isn’t a sign that Ryder’s United States Championship run is just as inevitable as Ziggler’s rise to the top of RAW? 

I think so.

Ziggler is well past the point where he needs to be holding RAW’s secondary belt, yet—Internet Championship not included—Ryder’s never held a singles title in the WWE.

If you have Ryder beat Ziggler for the strap clean, Ziggler will just move on while Ryder will thrive as one of the WWE’s top mid-carders.

How can the WWE lose in that situation? It really can’t, and I think the Creative team is finally starting to realize that.

If I’m booking RAW—wouldn’t that be an awesome job?—I’m making damn sure that Ryder’s our next United States Champion and that Ziggler is the next star to jump the main event.

Yes, I’m serious, bro.