20 Most Underappreciated WWE Stars Of The 21st Century
2. Zack Ryder
Sorry to keep piling on Roman Reigns, but in a world where WWE has wasted more than two years begging fans to like him, you'd think that they'd have more respect for a guy who managed to get himself over. Zack Ryder pulled off that impressive achievement with the help of an original YouTube show, soon filling arenas with chants of "We want Ryder!"
WWE listened - for about a month. Ryder won the U.S. Title, but quickly found himself a constant victim of Kane. As "The Big Red Machine" was looking to get at John Cena, he attacked Ryder at every opportunity. It didn't bother Cena all that much, and it didn't get Kane over - it just made fans feel stupid for getting behind Ryder in the first place. When Cena kissed Eve Torres - Ryder's crush - in front of the popular underdog, it also didn't do him any favors.
It felt like Ryder was punished for getting over on his own, and it felt like the fans were being punished for believing in a star who wasn't created by the WWE machine. To this day, Ryder continues to languish on the undercard.