It's been over a year since Vince McMahon made his famous "brass ring" comment on Steve Austin's podcast. The statement got the chairman a fair bit of heat, especially from those who are familiar with the inner-workings of the company. There's probably been no one in the last ten years who has made a bigger attempt at reaching for that brass ring than Zack Ryder. He was in an awful position in the company, barely appearing on television and nearly always losing when he did, so he thought outside of the box and got himself over with a self-made YouTube show. That's something most companies would reward him for, but in WWE, if you get over without their permission, they do everything they can to kill your momentum. WWE's first attempt at burying Ryder was in October 2011, when the majority of the roster decided against giving Triple H a vote of confidence. Ryder later apologised to Triple H for not supporting him, which led to Hunter - who was a babyface at the time - hitting a Pedigree on Ryder. It was something that made absolutely no sense because it was never followed-up on. Why did Ryder have to be on the receiving end of the Pedigree? Why couldn't it have been anyone else on the WWE roster? Maybe someone who didn't have the momentum that Ryder had at the time. The simple answer is, if you get over without the company's permission then they'll go out of their way to make you look like an idiot.
Aaron Sass is a professional writer living in Corvallis, Oregon. He has previously done work with The Inquisitr, Examiner, and The Portland Tribune, covering the NBA, professional wrestling, and mixed-martial-arts.
