WWE TLC 2011: Why It's Now or Never for Zack Ryder to Win United States Title

Zack Ryder has been chasing Dolph Ziggler's United States Championship for the past few months. If he isn't finally booked to win it at TLC, then the WWE is seriously risking ruining his meteoric rise.

Just a little over a year ago, Ryder was used as little more than a comical jobber by the creative team and made most of his appearances on Superstars. At this point, however, Ryder may very well be the most over wrestler or personality in the entire company.

Much of this is Ryder's own doing as he continued to tinker with his character and went the extra mile by creating a weekly YouTube show called Z! True Long Island Story. His show has been going for almost a year now and it has allowed him to reach new heights. After years of hard work, it appears as though he is finally in position to secure individual gold in the WWE.

Ryder was granted one final shot at Ziggler's title after defeating Mark Henry with help from John Cena, who gave up his WWE Championship match to help out "Long Island Iced Z." Cena's involvement is a clear sign that the creative team has big plans for Ryder, but it's not like they haven't dropped the ball in the past.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big supporter of Ziggler as well and believe that he should receive a true world title run in the near future, but he wouldn't lose anything by dropping the belt to Ryder, and it would actually help fast track him to the main event in a more timely fashion.

Essentially, the United States Championship will do a lot more good for Ryder than it does for Ziggler. While having Ziggler hold the title for a good period of time has helped him get more over with the fans, he is now at the level where a mid-card title is holding him back more than anything.

While Ryder has proven that he doesn't need a legitimate title in order to garner fan support, capturing the US strap certainly couldn't hurt. Ryder has been in a constant battle to get noticed despite getting next to no television time, but he has suddenly become an integral part of RAW and a title win would be a fitting culmination of all the hard work he has put in.

Most talented wrestlers expect the creative team to come up with something for them, but Ryder realized that if he grew complacent, he could find himself on the unemployment line. Now, if everything goes the way it should, he is just days away from becoming a permanent fixture in the company.

The beautiful part of the United States Championship match at TLC is that the finish doesn't have to be completely clean and both men can come out looking good. Ryder has already beaten Ziggler with help on a couple occasions and it hasn't hurt his momentum, so I can see Cena being a factor on Sunday.

Unless Cena vs. Kane is a late addition to the card, it doesn't seem as though Cena will have much to do at the pay-per-view. Because of that I would anticipate Cena to be in Ryder's corner in order to neutralize the presence of Vickie Guerrero to some degree.

At some point, Cena will distract Ziggler, allowing Ryder to capture the title. This would be a win for everyone as Ryder would be the new champion, Ziggler would have a legitimate excuse for losing, and he would be able to start challenging for the WWE Championship.

If they keep stringing Ryder along, then there will likely come a time where he begins to lose momentum. The WWE needs to strike while the iron is hot and capitalize on Ryder's insane popularity. That is why Ryder must capture the United States Championship on Sunday.