Ryder himself is probably one of the saddest stories of someone working like hell to get over on their own only to have the promotion yank the rug out from underneath them on purpose. After breaking away from Curt Hawkins in the tag ranks, Ryder found himself without a gimmick and without a direction in the WWE territory. To make a change, Ryder introduced WWE to his Long Island Loudmouth character, a Jersey Shore type wrestler with gelled hair, a bad tan, and an attitude that made you want to punch him in the face. Ryder's gimmick did not immediately get over but he did get some screen time on television on the Raw brand and competed in the dark match at Wrestlemania. It wasn't until Ryder launched his YouTube series titled the True Long Island Story that Ryder's stock as a character started to rise. The series caused Ryder to gain a serious following amongst fans, culminating with the live crowd chanting "We want Ryder" at Raw and the Capital Punishment pay-per-view (neither of which he appeared on). Ryder's merchandise even sold out at arenas all over the country even though he rarely appeared on television. Ryder made it his mission to win the United States championship and even got a rub from Hollywood star Hugh Jackman in the buildup to his match against Dolph Ziggler at TLC. Ryder would appear in backstage segments with John Cena in order to build his credibility but it was ultimately this relationship that cost Ryder his place on the card. Zack was involved with Eve in a romantic storyline, however Ryder was booked by WWE to get absolutely crushed in every match, especially by Kane. When Kane attacked Eve and Ryder couldn't save her, John Cena rushed to her aid and received a kiss for his efforts. In response, Ryder was made to lose even more, getting squashed by Kane in a match and then receiving a low blow from Eve to cap that off. 2012 ended up being the worst year of Ryder's career as he fell from main eventing Raw to jobbing to everyone on the roster just because WWE didn't like fans cheering for him. You see, WWE hates to look stupid and, because you weren't supposed to like Zack Ryder, they were going to give you a reason not to like Zack Ryder. That mission was accomplished because Ryder hasn't been seen on Raw in forever and fans no longer chant his name.
