WWE Survivor Series 2011: Zack Ryder Will Beat Dolph Ziggler for US Title

Despite the fact that Zack Ryder has defeated United States Champion Dolph Ziggler on multiple occasions, it has been announced that John Morrison, and not Ryder, will challenge Ziggler for the title at Survivor Series.

This is a move that has many fans upset, but I believe the WWE has a plan in this instance. Ryder has set up an online petition signed by thousands in support of another shot at the United States Championship.

Not only is it all over WWE’s website, but Ryder appeared in tons of segments on RAW in which he had people sign the petition. Seeing as the WWE is making mention of the petition so often, it leads me to believe that Ryder will somehow make the Survivor Series match a triple threat.

The creative team has to understand how popular Ryder is as he routinely gets massive pops from the crowd. In fact, when he teamed with John Cena in the main event of RAW against The Miz and R-Truth a couple weeks ago, Ryder got louder cheers than Cena by far.

Ryder has more momentum now than he ever will, so the time is right to give him the title and allow him to develop into a permanent mid-card fixture. While I was unhappy with the match announcement at first, I think the title win would be more special if Ryder surprised everyone and got involved in the match.

Seeing as Ryder is from Long Island, winning the title at Madison Square Garden would essentially be like winning it in his own hometown. The creative team failed in that regard when they made Beth Phoenix lose to Kelly Kelly in her hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. at Night of Champions, but they know full well that Ryder would get an incredible reaction.

There is always a chance that the wrong decision is made by having Ziggler retain or Morrison win the belt, but Ryder is the clear choice in this instance. Not only would a win help further propel Ryder, but it would also free up Ziggler for a run in the main event.

Ziggler is one of the finest in-ring workers in the company, and over the past couple months he has done an excellent job of developing his on-screen character and allowing his ample charisma to come to the forefront.

Because of that, Ziggler doesn’t need to be tied down to the mid-card with the United States Championship anymore. Ryder winning the belt would be a service to both men, and that is why I believe Ryder will win the title on Sunday despite not being in the match at the moment.