10 Times WWE Threw Money Down The Drain

6. Woo Woo Woo, You Blow It

eric bischoff vince mcmahon
WWE.com

WWE didn't know what to do with Zack Ryder, but "Long Island Iced Z" took matters into his own hands. In 2011, he started his own YouTube show that quickly became a hit, making him one of the most popular members of the Raw roster. By the end of the year, fans' chants of "We want Ryder!" were ubiquitous on WWE TV, even if he wasn't. Finally, the company gave in, and Ryder beat Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship.

Something strange happened after that, though - the company that had always told superstars to advocate for themselves seemed to get annoyed that Ryder had gotten popular on his own. He soon became a punching bag for Kane, who attacked him in order to get back at John Cena. One of those attacks ended up costing Ryder the U.S. Title.

Eve Torres, Ryder's crush, also became a thorn in his side. She kissed John Cena in front of Ryder, then when she had finally earned Ryder's trust, turned on him again with a low blow. Meanwhile, the assaults from Kane continued, eventually leaving "Long Island Iced Z" in a wheelchair. Kane still continued to bully him, throwing the wheelchair-bound Ryder off the entrance stage.

In the end, WWE seemed to be trying to make Zack Ryder look like a joke - the sort of wrestler for whom fans shouldn't be cheering. Even though the company couldn't completely kill off Ryder's support, they sure killed his drawing power.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013