Zack Ryder's 10 Biggest Underdog Moments In WWE
Do you still woo woo woo?
What is wrestling without its lovable losers? Zack Ryder currently plays that part to perfection, and has been one of the biggest overacheivers in modern WWE history. From the moment he arrived on the roster nearly a decade ago, he has been beating the odds. Even when all hope has seemingly been lost for The Long Island Iced Z, he has refused to give up, leading to him having the best year of his career to date in 2016.
That was exactly the case last Monday night as Ryder led his patriotic team to victory in the blockbuster 16-man elimination tag team main event. In a match that featured the illustrious likes of Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Big Show, it was ultimately Ryder who scored the deciding pinfall for his team, which nearly no one saw coming when the show started.
That was far from the first time that Ryder shocked the world by pulling out the upset victory, and it surely shouldn't be the last. He has been WWE's ultimate underdog for the better part of ten years, and to celebrate Ryder's recent resurgence, we'll look back at the ten greatest moments where he overcame adversity in phenomenal fashion.
10. Winning A No. 1 Contender's ECW Championship Battle Royal (ECW, 15 September 2009)
After nearly two years of teaming, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were forced to go their separate ways as a result of Ryder being sent to ECW in the 2009 WWE Draft. It was unknown how either guy would fare on their own. But while Hawkins faded off into obscurity on the blue brand, Ryder made the most of the move by undergoing a complete makeover and reinventing himself as The Long Island Iced Z.
Within a matter of months, he built enough momentum to earn a spot in a No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal where the winner would be granted an ECW Championship match. Even then, there were a number of notable names involved including Shelton Benjamin and Yoshi Tatsu (who was actually relevant at the time), so a Ryder win wasn't at all predictable.
But somehow, Ryder managed to prevail over the rest of the roster and secure his shot at ECW's top title. It was a monumental win for him because not only did no one see it coming, it was a reward for all the hard work he put into resurrecting his career. It led to him having a standout match against Christian for the title the very next week.