10 Most Unlikely Contenders For The WWE World Title
8. Zack Ryder
Speaking of internet darlings, there was no bigger lovefest going on in 2010 than the one between internet wrestling fans and Zack Ryder.
Tired of being underutilized by WWE, Ryder began a YouTube show that turned him into cult favorite thanks to his over-the-top character and tremendous charisma. His merchandise sold out at shows despite him not being on television, and crowds chanted "We want Ryder" during Raws and pay-per-views.
How did WWE repay one of their talents for daring to get over despite not having the WWE hype machine behind them? They squashed him like a bug, of course. Ryder was meant to look like an idiot, taking a kick from Alicia Fox thanks to Ashton Kutcher and losing to people like Evan Bourne and Yoshi Tatsu.
This culminated somehow with him being booked in a world title match against Sheamus in August 2010. The match lasted all of 11 seconds, the second shortest title match in company history.
Obviously, Ryder has been sufficiently put in his place ever since, which served to teach the locker room a lesson: Don't you dare ever get over when you're not supposed to get over.