10 Wrestlers BANNED From Getting Over

10. Zack Ryder In Pretty Much Every Respect

The most cynical take is that Vince McMahon only wants to get the people he likes over. It is the hottest take, a rite of passage for a WWE fan almost.

It is also the correct take.

Dante himself could not have penned a more cruel ironic punishment than that to which McMahon sentenced Ryder in 2012. Ryder getting over was not in the plan, and while he was never a great worker and may not have evolved into a main event-level talent with the machine behind him, it's important to put his breakthrough into context. The standard wasn't amazing at the time. Ryder hasn't been mythologised, though it may look that way through a 2023 lens. He hustled, created his vastly influential YouTube series, and fans loved his self-deprecating act.

WWE, and you could almost hear the passive aggressive sigh, "rewarded" him with the United States title before turning him into such a joke that he could never reach the same level again. He was repackaged as an incel, given a slapstick assortment of injuries to sell, but was pushed - into oblivion by Kane!

Booking Kane to push Ryder off the stage was nothing less than a peak Simpsons era Mr. Burns gag. The only difference is that, had Conan O'Brien wrote it, the wheelchair would have spontaneously and inexplicably exploded.

The thing is, the bump Ryder took on his coccyx was probably more painful, for f*ck's sake.