Does Zack Ryder Still Have a Future in the WWE?

Everyone in the WWE Universe knows the story of Zack Ryder – the boy who loved wrestling, beat cancer and fought to get to the WWE, only to face a couple of painfully short-lived surges of success and end up shrouded in obscurity. With an out-of-the-blue victory and a challenge to the US Champion Rusev, could the Long Island Iced Z finally be headed for a brighter future in the WWE?

Ryder’s chances on the main roster are always in question, even when it seems he’s gaining momentum. The WWE seem to be confused as to what they want to do with him because with one hand they give him the IC title, with the other they are pulling it back, and at the same time, they are making him act solo on RAW and SmackDown, but tag at NXT. Usually, people who get sent back to NXT, go there to get a revamp and come back stronger, like Emma, for example. Zack’s partnership with Mojo Rawley, however, always felt half-hearted. Zack never dropped his usual persona, he only occasionally tested the Hype Bros opportunity. Also, it seems like Ryder isn’t the fun-loving Broski he used to be. He’s in his 30s now. The gimmick of the dumb bachelor has worn off and being in the Hype Bros, being forced to play that role always felt like torture. Not even once did I feel that Ryder wanted to be a part of this. It was like the old gimmick he put so much effort in building had become a nightmare he couldn’t escape.

The WrestleMania 32 moment was a dream come true for Ryder and yet, it turned out to be a simple PR trick, used by the WWE to get people to talk about Mania. The Creative were never going to give Zack a chance, he was always their shock factor guy and nothing more. His first shot at fame also had a similar fate. In 2011, Zack was the first one to see the potential in the then upcoming platform that was YouTube. When the Creative realised that Ryder was onto something, they used it. Smart marketing. Then the whole atrocity of the Cena/Ryder/Eve love triangle hit and the Kane wheelchair spots happened. Following that, the WWE had established itself on social media and started to employ YouTube more and more, while the Broski was sentenced to 5-6 years of constantly failing to get out of the limbo. When WrestleMania 2016 ended up with Ryder champion again, no one saw it coming but the people were happy because Ryder has a good fan base. However, after that rug was so rudely pulled out from underneath his feet, no one believes a Zack Ryder push any more.

That’s why when Zack Ryder was given the victory over Sheamus on the 4th of July, in the Team USA vs. The Multi-National Alliance match, I simply discarded it as grotesque tokenism. Pin that victory on the underdog, making the American Dream look like a reality on Independence Day, while ignoring the sad reality that the said underdog lives in.  Watching SmackDown with that mindset in motion, I did not see that clean victory over Sheamus coming, at all. This outcome brought two things up. First, if you are a Sheamus fan, like myself, you should be very, very worried because when one starts losing clean to Zack Ryder, he might be headed the same way Wade Barrett was. And second, you have to ask yourself if Zack Ryder doesn’t actually have one last shot at success in the WWE. The Long Island Iced Z, actually making it would send a truly positive message, so ignoring all negativity, we must give him the benefit of the doubt.

Ryder is the best person to face Rusev at Battleground. With two weeks till the event, the Bulgarian Brute has already definitively destroyed all his viable opponents. It’s too late now to build up a good feud. However, when Zack Ryder’s success story is involved, no other storylines are needed. Ryder is the Creative’s trump card. The WWE Universe wants Ryder to succeed, so he’ll always get a huge pop when he does something brave or gets a shot at a title. Rusev has enough heel heat on him, as it is. The duo is guaranteed to get a good crowd response. Everyone in the arena will be behind Ryder and if the WWE play their cards well, Zack could look like a believable winner in this. Obviously, it could be a case of only using Ryder to get a reaction and then feeding him to Rusev, thus pilling up more heel heat on the US champ. It wouldn’t be the first time the WWE have played with Zack’s popularity.

Then again, there was one thing that happened on SmackDown, which brought the hopes up for Zack. His theme song changed. Technically, it’s still Radio but a different version. It has a much stronger, more aggressive feel to it. Finally, the music reflects the change in Zack’s persona. It makes me think that maybe the WWE Creative have finally decided to acknowledge Ryder’s growth as a person and to reflect it in his character. If Zack’s gimmick does get a revamp and he pulls an upset victory over Rusev, the brand split could open the door for him to a good, memorable US title reign in the new era. Don’t get me wrong, I like Rusev and I wish him all the best but his future in the WWE seems much more certain than Zack’s. Ryder probably will never hit stardom. Yet, this could be his chance to get a breath of new life and finally get out of the jobber zone. If Zack is to ever make it, now is his chance.

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised