In true professional wrestling style, you're either a Broski or you aren't. While Zack Ryder's meteoric surge to the tippy-top of the uppder midcard was fascinating to watch, it wasn't without its critics. But even so, you can't deny the power of the WWE Universe, when they literally forced Ryder into the spotlight. In 2011, Ryder had become somewhat disgruntled with his position in WWE. Despite getting some impressive crowd reactions, Ryder was continuously shafted by creative. Barely promoted, yet the crowds knew enough to chant "We Want Ryder", despite him not appearing anywhere near these shows. The Ryder Revolution had begun. Throughout the year, Ryder was put into storylines featuring John Cena, and was given ample time for the spotlight to shine on him. And he did it well, even inadvertently teaming with Hugh Jackman to gain a pinfall victory over Dolph Ziggler. It seemed as though WWE was listening, even putting the coveted United States Championship on Ryder at TLC 2011. And even though he ended up dropping the title to Jack Swagger a mere 29 days later, it was at least a sign that the company may be prepping Ryder for something more. After all, he managed to become one of the top merchandise movers among the likes of John Cena and CM Punk. Eventually, though, as all good things do, it came to an end. Ryder was put into a romance storyline with Eve, jobbed out like crazy and overall made to look like a weak and ineffectual nothing. He still gained some nice reactions, but the push was slammed on so hard by WWE, it would be difficult to give any credibility to another try at Ryder. But you can look back at Ryder's rise in 2011, and be proud of him. He got himself over, despite the obvious fact that no one in the company ever believed he could do it. Zack Ryder should be an upper midcard guy, and even be given a token World Title run during some of the quiet months in the company, just as a show of support for working so hard. But it's highly unlikely that the company sees anything more than a solid utility worker, which is a shame, but it's the nature of the beast.
