10 Times WWE Punished Success

2. Zack Ryder

There may never be a bigger example of someone showing initiative than Zack Ryder. He was the first to jump on the YouTube craze in WWE, and that platform helped him get over with an army of fans who didn't see him much on regularly-scheduled programming. That's because Zacky boy wasn't considered anything more than auxiliary.

His online show, 'Z! True Long Island Story' pre-dated modern phenomenons like 'Being The Elite' by almost a decade. Ryder showed balls, creativity and personality in his vids, so much so that fans started to take notice and chant, "We Want Ryder" incessantly at shows. This led to a mini-wave of love that forced WWE's hand.

The troubles started when Ryder began interacting with top names like John Cena on TV. He was never presented on an even keel with anyone, including Eve Torres; WWE's plan was to make Zack a lovable idiot who had lucked out rather than worked hard.

He was briefly spotlighted then cruelly discarded back to the undercard after months of poor booking killed momentum he'd created.