10 Tag Team Wrestlers Who Held Their Partners Back
8. Santino Marella
Heading into 2012, Zack Ryder looked like he was on the verge of becoming WWE's next superstar. The fan supported he had garnered via his YouTube show led to him winning the United States Championship, and he was getting some of the loudest pops on WWE's shows.
Of course, it didn't last long. Despite Ryder's talent and reception, he was made to look bad at the hands of Kane, John Cena, and Eve Torres, soon losing his title and falling down the card. He was turned on by Torres - a second time - at WrestleMania 28, and after that, he seemed to be in trouble.
Had WWE wanted to push him, they certainly could have, but instead, he was soon put into a tag team with perennial comedy jobber Santino Marella. As "Team Co-Bro," the two got good reactions from live crowds, but found themselves on Superstars and Main Event more often than Raw.
Being associated with Marella was the worst thing that could have happened to Ryder at that point in his career, and it was the beginning of his slide back into obscurity.