WWE TLC 2011: Zack Ryder Will Fail in the Biggest Match of His Career

WWE fans have been championing the Zack Ryder movement for months and now he will finally get his shot at the United States championship against Dolph Ziggler at TLC, but the problem is he has never been under this kind of microscope before and the pressure is on. 

To say that Ryder has been booked to look weak would be an understatement. Vince McMahon is clearly upset that the Internet sensation is over with the crowd as much as he is—go figure that—and has done everything to get them to turn on him. 

All you have to do is look at how Ryder "earned" his shot against Ziggler at this show. He lost a match against John Cena, who then decided to give up his spot in the main event to give Ryder one more chance to earn a title shot. 

Ryder's second shot to become the No. 1 contender came against Mark Henry, who Ryder beat because Cena beat up Henry and Ryder happened to get the pinfall. 

But now that Cena isn't there to back him up, unless he is put in the match as the special referee as has been rumored, Ryder will have to succeed on his own. He doesn't necessarily have to win the match, because let's face it, wins and losses in WWE mean nothing, but he does need a strong performance. 

The good news is that Ryder is in the ring with the right wrestler. Ziggler has emerged from the shadows to be the best pure wrestler in WWE. I still think that, all things being equal, Daniel Bryan is a better worker, but Ziggler is getting the spotlight more to showcase his ability and he has taken off. 

But having never seen Ryder under this kind of spotlight before, it is easy to see why I have my doubts that he can succeed. He might have a ton of untapped wrestling potential, and will surprise everyone, but given WWE's track record with its younger workers in high-profile matches this year, don't count on it. 

Another factor working against Ryder, and Ziggler for that matter, is the question of how much time they will be given to put together a good match. 

WWE doesn't care about its secondary titles—it barely cares about the main titles—so there is no rule stating that they have to give this match any time to develop heat or psychology. 

Ryder can be a star because the crowd loves him. He can be a face of the company because his personality is so unique. He can be a lot of things that for some reason WWE doesn't want him to become. 

I fear that trend will continue at TLC this Sunday night with Ryder being made to look like the same dork that he has been on television for the past two months.