WWE TLC 2011: Zack Ryder Will Use Title Reign to Continue Amazing Momentum

Few superstars, namely CM Punk and John Cena, are garnering as much crowd reaction as new United States champion Zack Ryder. His first run as a mid-card singles title holder will go a long way in deciding whether or not the “Long Island Iced Z” has staying power.

Judging by the huge pop when he pinned Dolph Ziggler last night at TLC, he will have no problem building on his recent run of success.

It's been a slow rise to stardom for Ryder, who was greeted by his dad and fellow YouTube show contributor “The Big O” after his win. All his hard work finally paid off last night in Baltimore, though, and he appeared to be genuinely thrilled to walk away victorious.

His revolution started with a couple diehard fans in each arena holding up signs hoping to become the next broski of the week. Slowly but surely things began to snowball. He started moving merchandise at a crazy rate and the WWE Universe began to chant his name regularly, even in matches he wasn't in.

That combination of wrestling lifers and casual fans coming together to cheer on the same character has become increasingly rare now a days. That's why Ryder's meteoric rise will only continue.

What's been overlooked during Ryder's current push has been his in-ring improvement. His YouTube show, Twitter presence and merchandise sales are great, but they wouldn't matter if he wasn't continuing to make huge strides in the actual wrestling aspect.

His arsenal of moves has increased dramatically since he was Superstars fodder a couple months ago. Working with Ziggler, who is one of the company's best workers and sells moves better than anyone else, did wonders for Ryder.

It'll be interesting to see how he handles increased air time, especially on the mic, but if it's anything like the past couple months, he'll hit that out of the park, too.

When somebody is taking the WWE by storm like Ryder, the creative team can only keep him strapless for so long. Not everybody succeeds when given the opportunity, so Ryder must proceed with caution without forgetting the fans who allowed him to reach this point.

Even though he might feel a sense of relief that his determination was rewarded, his fight toward the top is actually just beginning, not ending. An unimpressive stint as champion will take him right back to square one.

Luckily for Ryder, his broskis will make it tough for him to fail. Monday Night RAW will be the beginning of something big.

Woo, woo, woo, you know it.