WWE: Zack Ryder & His Downward Spiral

TLC December 18th, 2011 Zack Ryder captures his first major singles championship with the US Title, the crowd went nuts, it culminated in months of getting himself over with the fans and WWE brass, finally he had been rewarded. The crowd was going crazy, Ryder chants filled the arena as they had done so the entire match, backing his every move hoping that maybe, just maybe he could get this well deserved victory. This was it, Zack Ryder had made it, he was on the ladder and the only direction he was going was up... or so we thought. Less than a month had passed before we witnessed Ryder dropping the title he fought so hard to win to Jack Swagger. The match wasn't even contested on a PPV, but an episode of Raw itself. Ryder had recently been attacked by Kane and was currently sporting injured ribs, being the showman that he is Ryder still competed in the match. Many were hoping that the loss of the United States title would mean elevation for this young star, moving up a step and maybe competing with guys on the next level. This was not to be, Ryder was still being used as a part of the Kane/Cena storyline that was going on. He continued to take his beatings off Kane to the point of being submitted to a wheelchair. Adding fuel to the fire poor old Ryder caught John Cena kissing his love interest Eve. Zack confronted his best friend before being manhandled by Kane once again, this time he was thrown off the stage in his wheelchair taking quite a bump. This final assault by the Big Red Monster wrote him out of TV for a short while before he returned a few weeks before WrestleMania on Raw. During that time Eve had completed her heel turn, giving the old Sable routine on how the men just wanted her and she could use and abuse whomever she wished. Even though Eve had been caught smooching with Cena, constantly turning Zack down and heeling it up in the ring, Ryder's infatuation with Eve continued. This just made Ryder look dumb and stupid, it made for cringe-worthy TV and did nothing to enhance the former US champion's career. Unfortunately this continued through to WrestleMania, where Eve help cost Team Teddy the match and gave old Zack a swift kick in the happy sack. We can only hope that this love affair in now officially over. So to sum up so far... Zack Ryder, the man who was his own catalyst to stardom through sheer determination and to get himself over, having been welcomed with open arms by the fans was rewarded with the United States Championship and a over the top family celebration to go with it. He then dropped the title to the less charismatic Jack Swagger, who's only routine of getting himself over consists of push ups and the eagle run. Following this he was then destroyed by Kane on several occasions, whilst also having his heart assaulted by Eve. Which then continued on until the coin finally dropped when Eve explained her feelings for him with her knee. Spin on a few weeks to Raw and Ryder once again finds himself being used as enhancement talent for Kane. Without degrading Kane's past accomplishments, he is in fact an asset to the company, but since his return none of the programmes he has been involved in have been viewed as anymore than average. Randy Orton and Kane are two of WWE's biggest stars, why is talent such as Zack Ryder being used as fuel for the fire of their feud? Let's not destroy the next generation, they are exactly that... The Next Generation. The match did nothing for Ryder, he gave hardly any offense and was destroyed within minutes. Any superstar could have been used for the match, any. The commentators barely mentioned what Kane had already done to Ryder in January, but that's WWE commentating for you. Managing to gain a win along side Santino and briefly appearing on the WWE Exteme Rules PPV, attacking Kane backstage as he faced Randy Orton in their falls count anywhere match, it has become apparent that not even WWE themselves know which direction Ryder is headed. I really don't know what WWE expects to achieve with the ridiculous start/stop push treatemnt of the younger stars. It is incredible the way WWE abuse some their strongest and most over talent in the way they do. How do they expect the viewers to invest in their stars, have us believe they can achieve the goals they state to us in their promo's each week when one minute they are on top of the ladder and the next falling right to the bottom hitting every step on the way?