10 Most Controversial Storylines Of WWE's PG Era

Zack Ryder's YouTube "Z! True Long Island Story" show captured the imagination of wrestling fans in 2011 and allowed the former tag team champion the opportunity to connect with audiences in a way he never had the chance to on Raw and SmackDown.

Soon, fans were hijacking episodes of WWE programming, voicing their desire for a Ryder push. At TLC in December 2011, they finally got what they wanted when he defeated Dolph Ziggler to win the United States Championship in an emotionally charged battle.

What should have been the beginning of a monstrous push was, instead, its culmination. It was all downhill for Ryder, who was buried quicker than an NXT call-up. He was destroyed by Kane, confined to a wheelchair and made to look like the inadequate bestie of John Cena.

It was humiliating for the performer, disappointing for fans and demoralising for a locker room of his peers, all of whom had watched him get himself over only to be unmercifully shut down by management.

Ryder would spend the next three years trying to reach that level again. He failed. At WrestleMania 32, though, he was awarded a heartwarming moment as he won the Intercontinental Championship and celebrated with his father.

Only to lose it the next night to The Miz in what amounted to a hearty "f**k you" to his faithful fans.