WWE took perverse pleasure in making a joke of Zack Ryder's self-made rise in 2011, affording him a token United States title run before systematically destroying his entire character in the aftermath. Winning a secondary strap then was a childhood dream come true - him holding another one in 2016 was literally right out of the family photo album.
Following the emergence of a photo of a young Zack with then-Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon doing the rounds on social media over the weekend of the 'Show Of Shows', WWE decided to exploit the gem for numbers. A replacement for the injured Neville, Ruder was an unfancied entrant in WrestleMania 32's multi-man ladder war, but somehow pulled off the win. Unlike his prior desecration, this death would be quick and deadly.
Ryder legged it backstage to take a picture with Scott Hall holding his title, before dropping it to actual star The Miz the next night on Monday Night Raw and never getting within a spiked frosted tip of the strap again.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
