WWE treatment of Zack Ryder

[Prince Bálor]

Styles is going over, believe in the Bullet Club.

[HASHTAG]#BulletClub4Lyfe[/HASHTAG]

inb4 they are called Bulletproof Club.

 

[Bubblegum]

Honestly if you ask me this is making Ryder even more popular, now everyone is on his side and backing him to get the title back. Since when were fans so invested with a guy getting the Intercontinental title back?

 

[Giovanni Prado]

Ryder is not done with Miz. Did you guys see Smackdown last night? He interrupted MizTV so if that doesn't tell you he's involved in the IC title picture still, idk what will. He'll either get in the match somehow and make it a triple threat, or he'll get involved in the finish of Cesaro/Miz and set up a triple threat for the next PPV.

 

[The GOAT]

Honestly if you ask me this is making Ryder even more popular, now everyone is on his side and backing him to get the title back. Since when were fans so invested with a guy getting the Intercontinental title back?

They were invested in the same thing back in 2012, only it was the United States Championship they were clamoring to see him regain, not the Intercontinental Title. I don't have any great faith that things will turn out any different this time. (I'm also not even a big Zack Ryder fan anyhow, and there's more interesting talent that I would rather see hold the title than him, but to each his own.)

 

[Roadster]

lol Why would Cena go after the United States Championship after being a 15-time world champion? Why would Austin back in '97 go after the Intercontinental Title just months after winning the Royal Rumble in January, competing for the world title in February, and then competing for the world title again in May? Why would a legend like Shawn Michaels challenge Chris Jericho for the IC Title in late 2004 after having already won the world title and main evented Wrestlemania multiple times? Etc., etc.

John Cena has to do with circumstance. The fans weren't going to allow Cena to tie Ric Flair. It would've been horrible, and it would've caused a lot of outrage. At the same time they had a super hot monster heel in Rusev, and the US title needing a dramatic shift in direction. It fell into place. The same thing with Steve Austin. He wasn't meant to win the Rumble in the first place. It was supposed to be Bret Hart. According to Jim Cornette, this plan was set in stone during August of 1996 with HBK-Vader feud. Shawn refused to drop the belt, and McMahon went with Austin, not with the purpose to go on for a title match (which he didn't get, so it's not that big of a drop) but to have his feud with Hart lead to greater things. Shawn Michaels, on the other, hand was long past his peak popularity at this point. Nostalgia wore off, and him and Jericho had amazing matches and programs. It was likely just something for him to do, in the mean time.

Bottom line is, that these scenarios are only somewhat similar to AJ Styles. He is an extremely popular face, right now, unlike Shawn Michaels. He has a clean slate to accomplish whatever, unlike Cena. He probably wasn't a last minute replacement, in a match that isn't meant to do anything but further push another feud, like Steve Austin. If he doesn't win, he should have another non-title singles feud before going after the Intercontinental title.

 

[Rosie]

When I look at Zack Ryder, I never saw a main event kind of person, but I saw someone who could have been a solid mid-card draw. Looking at him in ECW when he first developed his WWWYKI gimmick. He was annoying, he had the weird tights, but his gimmick worked. He got lost in the shuffle for a while, then came Z True Long Island Story. That show got him over. The fans got to see his goofy side, and showed he can be entertaining, something WWE always wants.

Eventually, he seemingly got his push, winning the United States Championship. Then came...The John Cena storyline. A storyline only designed to make fun at his expense, having him get beat up by Kane every week, put in embarrassing situations, losing his US Title, and falling into irrelevancy. It is a shame, because when you got pops as loud as he did, it is an asset. I would say more, but a lot of people covered this topic. Good day!

 

[Roadster]

Great story, bruv.

 

[The GOAT]

John Cena has to do with circumstance. The fans weren't going to allow Cena to tie Ric Flair. It would've been horrible, and it would've caused a lot of outrage. At the same time they had a super hot monster heel in Rusev, and the US title needing a dramatic shift in direction. It fell into place. The same thing with Steve Austin. He wasn't meant to win the Rumble in the first place. It was supposed to be Bret Hart. According to Jim Cornette, this plan was set in stone during August of 1996 with HBK-Vader feud. Shawn refused to drop the belt, and McMahon went with Austin, not with the purpose to go on for a title match (which he didn't get, so it's not that big of a drop) but to have his feud with Hart lead to greater things. Shawn Michaels, on the other, hand was long past his peak popularity at this point. Nostalgia wore off, and him and Jericho had amazing matches and programs. It was likely just something for him to do, in the mean time.

Bottom line is, that these scenarios are only somewhat similar to AJ Styles. He is an extremely popular face, right now, unlike Shawn Michaels. He has a clean slate to accomplish whatever, unlike Cena. He probably wasn't a last minute replacement, in a match that isn't meant to do anything but further push another feud, like Steve Austin. If he doesn't win, he should have another non-title singles feud before going after the Intercontinental title.

Irrelevant. The fact is is that those guys achieved big accolades before eventually settling for lesser accomplishments later on. That's what everyone saw happen on-screen, regardless of what reasons there were for them off it. That sort of thing is pretty common in wrestling too, and there's plenty of other examples beyond just the ones that I decided to name.

I'm also not saying he'll immediately challenge The Miz at the very next PPV or anything, but I do believe he's the one they've chosen to eventually take the Intercontinental Title from him.