10 Worst WWE United States Champions Ever

4. Zack Ryder (2011)

Retrospect is a strange thing, but it's made one thing about Zack Ryder's run in WWE perfectly clear. Namely, the promotion really didn't want to push the guy, but felt their hand was forced by a raucous fan base who took a shine to Ryder. 2011 was the year when the former mid level tag-team star broke out and became a genuine singles sensation. Behind the scenes, management grumbled. WWE seem to dislike when fans cheer for people they're not interested in pushing. Ryder was one of those performers, and that's the only reason why he was given a short run with the WWE United States Title.

At the TLC pay-per-view in December 2011, he defeated Dolph Ziggler in a well-received match to win the strap. Fans went wild, and Ryder's father was even in attendance. It would all go downhill from there, because - as aforementioned - WWE didn't want to push Zack Ryder. Less than a month after winning the belt, Ryder was jobbed out to Jack Swagger. Ryder, Swagger and Santino Marella were all champions within a four-month span, and none of the trio were given much chance of succeeding.