Well, Hell... I Want Ryder, Too!

[LegendKiller_RKO]

As the weeks have passed the "we want Ryder" chants have become progressively more pronounced. I don't remember the last Raw I have watched that I haven't heard the "Ryder revolution" in full force and chanting his name. Then at tonight's survivor series during the United States Title match between Ziggler and Morrison, through the entire contest and Ziggler's promo there after, chants for Zack Ryder were abundant. Then according to wrestlezone's article on The Rock's post match promo, there were more Zack Ryder chants. So my point of the forum is, that even during one of the most anticipated in ring returns of one of the most over superstars that may have ever graced the business, were hearing chants for Zack Ryder. Do you believe that this may be the point that WWE really and consciously considers a MAJOR push in Ryder's direction? Your thoughts?

 

[#hamler]

Ryder doesn't even have to be on Raw to be used. The chants, the merchandise, the riots; does anyone actually think the WWE is ignoring that? The WWE is pushing Ryder. They're making you want Ryder and that's a great way to get him over. If Ryder's appearances are few and far between, people will want him more. The WWE is doing something with Ryder. There was a WWE.com story that John Laurinaitis denied Zack Ryder's Twitter Petition. Why would the WWE publish that if they're not planning on pushing Ryder? Zack's push is already in affect and I doubt it'll stop anytime soon. People who say the IWC are the only fans who like him are full of shit. I'm not a mark for the guy but to deny him the right to be pushed is just asinine.

 

[Suibon]

It's happening - from being an afterthought (except by me and overzealous smarks), he's now being seriously considered as a contender for Ziggler's US title. He's part on backstage segments with Teddy Long, he became cannon fodder for Awesome Truth, he main-evented a (surprisingly meh) RAW with John Cena and Miz/Truth a few weeks back - the push. He's in the middle of it, and he's getting ever hotter.

Woo woo woo YOU know it. ​

 

[Zeven_Zion]

What exactly is Ryder's appeal? I'm dead fucking serious here. Is he that good on the mic? Is he that good in the ring? Is his gimmick so endearing? Or is he just wearing bright colors and that seems to be enough of a reason for some fans to be dazzled by him. I mean, Cena, Hardy and Ryder. They're pretty colorful and they sell well. Double digit IQ's anyone?

Either way, can someone PLEASE tell me what's so great about Ryder because for the love of God I look at the guy and I can't see one ounce of talent. His acting is cheesy. His facial expressions are not far from that too. He's average in the ring and don't tell me this woo woo woo shit is any good. Neither are his mic skills.

So what exactly makes the fans want to "riot" if Ryder's not on the show? Please, illuminate me and tell me what Ryder has that no one else on the freakin' roster does, aside from horrible clothing.

To me, he comes off super corny, fake and forced. He's somewhat athletic in the ring but the indies are filled to the brim with guys on his level and above. He does have a catchphrase that's more annoying than anything, and his apparel is ... flamboyant. Maybe it's just me, but if you wear orange and purple and you act like a cheese-ball I can't take you seriously.

If you act like a comedy character, you should be treated as one. Main Event? How 'bout low mid-card. And how is that douche Robbie E any better or worse than Ryder? Ryder's actually worse because he's a few levels of ridiculiousness above Robbie, and Robbie can actually act. He's been doing this schtick in the indies for a while.

Case and point ... Jersey Shore gimmicks suck ass. All of them. Why is this one working?

 

[Suibon]

What exactly is Ryder's appeal? I'm dead fucking serious here. Is he that good on the mic? Is he that good in the ring? Is his gimmick so endearing? Or is he just wearing bright colors and that seems to be enough of a reason for some fans to be dazzled by him. I mean, Cena, Hardy and Ryder. They're pretty colorful and they sell well. Double digit IQ's anyone?

Either way, can someone PLEASE tell me what's so great about Ryder because for the love of God I look at the guy and I can't see one ounce of talent. His acting is cheesy. His facial expressions are not far from that too. He's average in the ring and don't tell me this woo woo woo shit is any good. Neither are his mic skills.

So what exactly makes the fans want to "riot" of Ryder's not on the show? Please, illuminate me and tell me what Ryder has that no one else on the freakin' roster does, aside from horrible clothing.

He got over while being an afterthought, he's over, and he will be pushed to at least a mid-card championship.

It doesn't matter whether you hate him and his gimmick - he got himself over.

End of story.​

 

[Zeven_Zion]

He got over while being an afterthought, he's over, and he will be pushed to at least a mid-card championship.

It doesn't matter whether you hate him and his gimmick - he got himself over.

End of story.​

Yeah but why did he get over. What talents does he have that got him over? Why is he so good? Don't tell me you're behind him because of the fact he sucked before and sucks less now. I simply want to know, broski. Maybe I can start liking him as well, maybe there are some hidden talents I didn't notice.

 

[trashboy]

What exactly is Ryder's appeal? I'm dead fucking serious here. Is he that good on the mic? Is he that good in the ring? Is his gimmick so endearing? Or is he just wearing bright colors and that seems to be enough of a reason for some fans to be dazzled by him. I mean, Cena, Hardy and Ryder. They're pretty colorful and they sell well. Double digit IQ's anyone?

Either way, can someone PLEASE tell me what's so great about Ryder because for the love of God I look at the guy and I can't see one ounce of talent. His acting is cheesy. His facial expressions are not far from that too. He's average in the ring and don't tell me this woo woo woo shit is any good. Neither are his mic skills.

So what exactly makes the fans want to "riot" if Ryder's not on the show? Please, illuminate me and tell me what Ryder has that no one else on the freakin' roster does, aside from horrible clothing.

To me, he comes off super corny, fake and forced. He's somewhat athletic in the ring but the indies are filled to the brim with guys on his level and above. He does have a catchphrase that's more annoying than anything, and his apparel is ... flamboyant. Maybe it's just me, but if you wear orange and purple and you act like a cheese-ball I can't take you seriously.

If you act like a comedy character, you should be treated as one. Main Event? How 'bout low mid-card. And how is that douche Robbie E any better or worse than Ryder? Ryder's actually worse because he's a few levels of ridiculiousness above Robbie, and Robbie can actually act. He's been doing this schtick in the indies for a while.

Case and point ... Jersey Shore gimmicks suck ass. All of them. Why is this one working?

I don't understand it either. He annoys the crap out of me. I've said it before, the one time i liked him was when he was an Edgehead in a tag team with Curt Hawkins, drop the jersey shore thing and get those two back together and do something in the tag division.. this idiot only got over because of some annoying youtube videos, and i don't understand it. i watched his videos and they were just irritating. I hate Robbie E too, but I prefer him over Ryder, at least Robbie doesn't say woo woo woo.. and Robbie's a little more serious doing the jersey shore thing.. Ryder is just another Santino, and should stay in the midcard as a comedy jobber.. it'll be a sad day if he beats Ziggler for the title.. and it probably will happen. So if Ziggler becomes a world champ, does that mean that Ryder can go on and beat Ziggler for the world title too?

 

[SPR*VLN]

He got himself over with his show. Smart dude by giving himself his own push. I don't really care or hate the Zack Ryder demand. I do honestly think people are jumping on the bandwagon because it's the cool thing to do. But once people praise that somebody to the roof, they're an afterthought as fast as their success. Nowadays it occurs too commonly in entertainment, sports, and wrestling.

 

[Prince Punk]

He got over with the people because EVERYONE knew who he was but also knew he was not going anywhere... but instead of saying ok what ever He took what he had and ran with it. people admire him for that. I know I do. He is chasing his dream and doing everything in his power to do so, (which includes approaching things in ways not previously done in wrestling) He is a character but he plays that character and he committed to that character. And he is something people can get behind.

Honestly in 3-5 years I could see him main eventing. Just let him ride the wave stay healthy and popular and turn him against the fans when he starts to grow stale (look what that did for R-TRUTH!!!) Just saying....

 

[Dmbfantomas]

He's improving in the ring every week. Can he carry a match with other top guys? No, not yet. He's 26 years old. He continues to improve at everything. His charisma is off the charts.

The main reason he got over? The most basic - everyone loves an underdog. he played himself as that to perfection. His youtube show is kinda like Clerks. Cheapy produced, obviously amaturely made, but there is the undeniable (for most) charm to the whole thing that endeared him to an ever-growing fanbase.

 

[Larry]

I'm with Zion on this one. Ryder isn't "My Main Broski". The only thing is, I think I DO get why he is so over, he just isn't with me. I think he is so over simply because he took his own initiative for starters, he's an underdog and everyone loves one, and because he just makes people laugh. His ridiculous corny character is pretty funny to a lot of people, and it's hard not to like a guy who makes you laugh. Hell, I find him funny at times, I do get the hilarity of his character, but it doesn't mean I want to see him become some world beater and get pushed to the next galaxy.

 

[zac007]

I think ryder is overated, he is ok in the ring and has ok mic skills but thats it. I will give him respect for getting himself over but he just doesnt have the it factor in my opinion.

 

[Azane]

Anyone who's put in as much effort as Ryder to self promote and get himself over deserves a shot to run with it.

I don't see him main eventing, but I see him being used often

 

[Suibon]

Yeah but why did he get over. What talents does he have that got him over? Why is he so good? Don't tell me you're behind him because of the fact he sucked before and sucks less now. I simply want to know, broski. Maybe I can start liking him as well, maybe there are some hidden talents I didn't notice.

He got over because he worked his butt off attracting people (gullible smarks from early on, then slowly and surely a wider segment of the WWE universe) to his YouTube show (I'm a subscriber, so call me biased), to his demands to be represented as a product, to everything big and small he did to get over. And he got over (though you might say that if he wasn't in nearly as good a shape as he is, he'd be best seen and not heard for the rest of his career, kinda like Mark Henry - lucky him he ain't 400 pounds).

That's it. If you're looking for moves, you're not gonna get it.​

 

[Matth3w]

Like others have said, he's an underdog. He has a personality combined with charisma as displayed in his YouTube show - a show he created to give himself airtime seeing as the WWE weren't giving it to him (on a side note: imagine all the untapped lower card talent yet to be discovered due to lack of air/mic time to those in the lower card. We could have another Cena on our hands, but WWE won't give these guys the light of day in terms of mic time). Anyway, people took notice of his underdog-ness, his wrestling puns, his catchphrase. To the majority - it's entertaining. When people like Stone cold steve Austin, CM Punk, John Cena and (to a lesser extent, Val Venis) are praising you; and sold out arenas are chanting your name - I say you've made it.

I understand as a Ryder fan not EVERYONE will enjoy Zack as an entertainer/wrestler. Heck, I don't get the fuss for Austin or Undertaker, but every man and his dog love them. Im not a fan of the Godfather or Star Wars movies either, despite their success.

Point is, you get it or you don't. And no amount of explaining can make you people who dont understand Ryders appeal, GET Ryders appeal.

 

[Suibon]

Like others have said, he's an underdog. He has a personality combined with charisma as displayed in his YouTube show - a show he created to give himself airtime seeing as the WWE weren't giving it to him. People took notice of his underdog-ness, his wrestling puns, his catchphrase. To the majority - it's entertaining. When people like Stone cold steve Austin, CM Punk, John Cena and (to a lesser extent, Val Venis) are praising you; and sold out arenas are chanting your name - I say you've made it.

I understand as a Ryder fan not EVERYONE will enjoy Zack as an entertainer/wrestler. Heck, I don't get the fuss for Austin or Undertaker, but every man and his dog love them. Im not a fan of the Godfather or Star Wars movies either, despite their success.

Point is, you get it or you don't. And no amount of explaining can make you people who dot understand Ryders appeal, GET Ryders appeal.

I disagree. This is the wrasslin' business; if you get over, you did something right, and flip it if you don't. If you feel like delving deep into what makes an over guy so over in order to understand what forces and circumstances made him over, then do so.

I for one have done my bit of research in the case of Chris Jericho and then Zack Ryder - why the former, despite his skills, wasn't a consistent main-eventer, and why the latter may be due for a mid-card push.​

 

[ahoyhoy]

I think considering how hard peoples lives are at the moment, seeing a guy force the issue and make a name for himself is quite an inspiring story. I don't particularly care for Zach Ryder as a wrestler or a gimmick and I don't watch his show or chant his name. I have watched many years of guys get where they are through nepotism or because of a body-building fetish. And now it is heart-warming to see the forgotten, which he was, work the old cliche of 'pulling your bootstraps up' and getting where you want to be by working hard and thinking out of the box. If only every industry was like the WWE and afforded people the chance to do something similar right now.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I understand the underdog thing, but if people got behind him because of it, how come they're not getting behind Evan Bourne? No riots for little Evan? Evan's the epitome of an underdog and he's light years ahead of Ryder in the ring.

I also understand that some people think the cheesiness of the gimmick is what makes it hilarious. I don't, however, understand how this is a good thing. Here you have Robbie E who is also very cheesy, but he gets shit 24/7, and Ryder gets praised for it? This is not a TNA/WWE thing, by the way. It's a character thing.

No one praises his mic skills, no one praises his ring skills, no one praises his ring presence or any ability that does not include lookin' and actin' like a jackass. Is this what it takes to get a push these days? A crappy YouTube show and some willpower? Not only that, are fans' standards that low? You get behind someone just because he "worked his ass off" and "he's the underdog"? Newsflash: the majority of the wrestlers work their asses off, it doesn't make either of them special for doing so. Flip to page 2: a lot of them are also the underdog. They call it a "face" most of the time.

Sheesh, I should stop looking for faults in TNA and WWE. It seems like the fans are the real problem. I don't see Ryder's talent [past or present] or his potential. All I see is a dude in crazy clothing, doing a character and doing it badly, and being loved for it, while other wrestlers have been buried for the same reasons. And should be.

He's so bad that he's good? ... say what?

 

[Jenna.]

It's weird. I think he's ridiculously cheesy and is average as far as wrestling is concern, but I like him. He's entertaining and definitely gets the crowd pumped.

When I went to Raw back in June for the All Star night thing, he had a dark match and the fans went nuts over this guy. Then I realized it might be a little biased just for the simple fact that we were in Long Island and he's from LI, but people really like this guy lol. I don't get it. I don't even get why I like him either to be honest.

It sucked though they wasted our time last night with that bs US champ match with Morrison and not Ryder. He was in his hometown! WWE could of did a better job with that.

 

[cstatus94]

I got to agree he indeed has improved. Remember that match a while back with Sheamus while Sheamus was champ and Ryder lost like in 10 seconds? He can hold him self against people like the Miz and Ziggler which I think is good.

 

[mral82]

Go back and watch the last few months of the WWECW Era. Zack Ryder was slowly get a mini push w/ the help of Tommy Dreamer and plus he was provin to all the haters that he had "Half Of IT!". It he has=Charisma, In Ring Presence, Skill. I was digging him when he was a Major Bro w/ Hawkins. Ryder is this gen's Christian need proof take a look so far at their 1st 5 yrs of their careers almost identical. In 5 yrs I think Ryder will be a US, I-C, or World HW Champ by then.

 

[AlwaysHasBeen]

What exactly is Ryder's appeal?

While some may like Ryder out of hometown pride obligations (as I saw at the Garden last night), I feel as if Ryder is a fortuitous victim of the UNDERDOG syndrome. People felt as if he was mishandled talent due to his rare TV appearances and when he chose to go viral, an affinity for him grew out of it, with his followers/watchers feeling as if he was one of them. There's nothing wrong with this. But to achieve longevity and to prosper and to be revered in the wrestling business, you have to be larger than life and he does not fit that mold. People sign petitions and jump on his bandwagon (and not just him I'm sure it goes on with a lot of underutiliized/mistreated talent) but what is not realized here is that if WWE did push him to the top, he would grow REAL stale REAL quick. The WE WANT RYDER chants that seem so ubiquitous these days are borne from the fact that he is almost a taboo persona in the WWE and people feel as if they are doing him a favor by chanting his name. But it would all just as quickly fade away if they put the strap on him tomorrow and force-fed him down our throats in a Cena-esque fashion.

 

[Tyler44]

If you're in WWE, you worked your ass off for your entire life. Cena did it, Triple H did it, The Rock did it, and Stone Cold did it. I can't look down upon these people because they are the top guys in WWE and people will assume they were just given their spot. Every single one of these people were once a "Zack Ryder".

And now, Zack Ryder took his position in WWE and tried to establish himself, by himself. That is where he should be credited and appreciated, because it worked.

His "fan love" is really not that huge though. His gimmick is mediocre and childish, and people love him because it's the "in" thing to do. There is a small percentage of people who are cheering "We Want Ryder" that actually want Zack Ryder. Most just do it for the hell of it. WWE is keeping him away because it will just build his following even more. I just can't get into it. Little kids will. If we didn't know his "story" to getting where he is and he just appeared with his gimmick, we'd all hate him.

Zack Ryder is average, nothing spectacular. His popularity reminds me of the newly CM Punk love with his new character. The reason CM Punk sticks is because he is very talented where as Zack Ryder is not. His gimmick is also terrible.

 

[remyx]

I've spoken about this a lot with my buds, and they went along with what a lot of people are saying on here in that they just didn't get his character or why he was getting over.. that was until they found out more about the guy.

He's a young dude, life long wrestling fan who has never wanted anything except than to be inside a WWE ring. Im pretty sure a lot of wrestling fans wish they could trade shoes with their heroes at least once. Not only that he was given a terrible gimmick, which despite how lame it was lived it and made it into something entertaining. I hate the jersey shore but I don't see him as even being like those meat ball heads, he's just a fun lovin' party guy who happens to be a wrestler. He took some initiative instead of sitting around thinking about how poor the shtick he was given really was, busted his ass and got himself over.

We live vicariously through our heroes in movies, tv, games & in this case wrestling. But in this scenario that person in question isn't a hero, he's just a joe nobody like us striving to get better. I never got Zack Ryder to begin with, but like my friends he has won me over.. seemingly with a lot of the WWE universe.

Call it jumping on the bandwagon started by those who were there during the major brothers days... whatever, I don't care. But i sit here writing this in my Broski t-shirt. Take care, Spike your Hair.

 

[rekon59]

I understand the underdog thing, but if people got behind him because of it, how come they're not getting behind Evan Bourne? No riots for little Evan? Evan's the epitome of an underdog and he's light years ahead of Ryder in the ring.

I also understand that some people think the cheesiness of the gimmick is what makes it hilarious. I don't, however, understand how this is a good thing. Here you have Robbie E who is also very cheesy, but he gets shit 24/7, and Ryder gets praised for it? This is not a TNA/WWE thing, by the way. It's a character thing.

No one praises his mic skills, no one praises his ring skills, no one praises his ring presence or any ability that does not include lookin' and actin' like a jackass. Is this what it takes to get a push these days? A crappy YouTube show and some willpower? Not only that, are fans' standards that low? You get behind someone just because he "worked his ass off" and "he's the underdog"? Newsflash: the majority of the wrestlers work their asses off, it doesn't make either of them special for doing so. Flip to page 2: a lot of them are also the underdog. They call it a "face" most of the time.

Sheesh, I should stop looking for faults in TNA and WWE. It seems like the fans are the real problem. I don't see Ryder's talent [past or present] or his potential. All I see is a dude in crazy clothing, doing a character and doing it badly, and being loved for it, while other wrestlers have been buried for the same reasons. And should be.

He's so bad that he's good? ... say what?

He has the one thing that you need to be successful in wrestling: the crowd. You can dislike his appearance, his work, his mic skills, and you can find guys who did it better. Ryder was the first guy who was lucky if he got to get his ass kicked on Superstars on a weekly basis, who decided not to wait to get a chance to stand out. He went and put something together that got him support, and it's paying off. It was an idea that worked well for his character, of course. I'm not saying Drew McIntyre should start up a YouTube channel to get himself back in the spotlight, but Ryder found an area to get himself noticed, and that's all you need.

Hell, I'm not saying he needs to get a world title run. But if the crowd keeps getting larger behind him, I wouldn't argue against it just because 'I don't take his look seriously'. It's pro wrestling, all a guy needs to get is a reaction from the crowd to succeed.

His ring work is far from awful, so I don't understand the knock there. But bad ring work has never stopped guys like Hulk Hogan from becomming household names, so it's another moot point. As is issues against his promos (Jeff Hardy comes to mind here).

Congrats, you weren't won over by his self-promotion. But considering Vince will try to force people to care about characters we don't want to care about, it's nice the crowd got behind someone he didn't care about.