No-one grabbed at Vince McMahons brass ring more impressively than Zack Ryder. In 2010, he was an afterthought in the WWE, an undercard guy destined for the future endevoured list sooner rather than later, but through determination and a canny understanding of new media, by 2011 he was United States Champion. He started his YouTube show Z! True Long Island Story as a way to showcase how entertaining he was and joke about his place in the WWE pecking order. Fans responded when they saw someone who essentially was one of them, and every week WE WANT RYDER! chants got louder and louder. Ryder was rewarded for his efforts with a championship, but it seems everything since then has been a punishment for having the temerity to get over on his own. As 2014 comes to an end, Ryder is more than an afterthought, hes a cautionary tale on what happens if youre not one of WWEs chosen. This year, Zack Ryder has wrestled eight times on Monday Night Raw, and lost seven of those matches and his last singles pay-per-view match was on the pre-show of Night of Champions 2012. If not enough superstars are reaching for Vince McMahons brass ring, its because they share a locker room with what happens when you do.
