What to do with Zack Ryder?

[gj2000]

Zack Ryder; enormous potential. He has all the talent in the world, and looks like a superstar. After having great matches with Christian and 'retiring' Tommy Dreamer, it looked like Zack Ryder was destined for big things within a considerably short amount of time. However, over the past year, he has been used to job to superstars, further enhancing the ones that are around him.

Personally, i still think Zack Ryder COULD have the potential to be more relevant than he is now, ala upper-mid card. But i wanted to ask, how can he be re-established as a serious star? Has jobbing one too many times damaged his character so much, that it can not be built back up properly? What does the WWE need to do in order to make him a serious contender.

Zack Ryder has more talent in his pinkie finger than most of the roster has combined. How can the WWE build Zack Ryder back up from obscurity?

 

[sam_the_man_2]

It's very obvious, but give him a title shot... Not a major title, maybe the U.S or I.C. He doesn't have to win it, just make it a good match…

 

[GCoh]

I think he deserves a mid-card push, other than jobbing on Superstars, but I think he needs a new gimmick. This Long Island Woo Woo Woo thing has gone too far. Give him something serious, move him to Smackdown and join the likes of Wade Barrett, Gabriel and Slater, put him in a stable first, then have him break away to the IC title picture

 

[sXe_Factor]

Honestly, I think it's not a matter of title shots... but just build him somewhat like they have with santino recently.

Give him an "Upset" win, here and there.
Slowly let him gain momentum, start winning more definitively.
After about 4-5 months of this, have him on a winning streak.
THEN give him the US title, or at least a nice feud with the champion.

 

[Da Big Champ]

Zack Ryder reminds me of The Miz. By this i mean he is confident, cocky and they both are easily hated.
What i would do is put Ryder in a tag team with a guy who is over with the crowd but is also upper mid card. I would then have them team for a year holding the tag team titles on for about 5-6 months during the year. During this time have Ryder wrestle mid cards and upper mid carders and win without his partner being at ring side. When the team finaly break up I would have the team fued with Ryder getting the better of his ex partner.
The second part would be to have him win the US title and have a dominant run and have him hold it for about 5-7 months until he drops to a upper mid carder/main eventer which will help the worth of the title. I would have Ryder fued for the US title then have him finally realise the WWE title is better and finally fued for the WWE title.
During this time he should get a new theme tune and new gimmick mainly because if he doesnt change its gonna keep reminding people of when he jobbed to everyone.

 

[Y2JChrisJericho]

I think he deserves a mid-card push, other than jobbing on Superstars, but I think he needs a new gimmick. This Long Island Woo Woo Woo thing has gone too far. Give him something serious, move him to Smackdown and join the likes of Wade Barrett, Gabriel and Slater, put him in a stable first, then have him break away to the IC title picture

I absolutley LOVE that gimmick, it's the sole reason why I like Ryder in the first place. I've seen enormous potential in him too, as a guy who can hold the IC or US title for a good period of time, or just someone who's going to be on Raw weekly.

I don't know what the hell happened to Ryder, he had so much momentum that has all been dropped now.

I agree though, put him in Smackdown, but not in a stable with nexus or whatever they are now. Smackdown is in need of wrestlers in general, mid card or main event, doesn't matter.

 

[PhD]

I absolutley LOVE that gimmick, it's the sole reason why I like Ryder in the first place. I've seen enormous potential in him too, as a guy who can hold the IC or US title for a good period of time, or just someone who's going to be on Raw weekly.

I don't know what the hell happened to Ryder, he had so much momentum that has all been dropped now.

I agree though, put him in Smackdown, but not in a stable with nexus or whatever they are now. Smackdown is in need of wrestlers in general, mid card or main event, doesn't matter.

Completely agree with you about the gimmick, it's definitely the best thing he has going for him. Even my friends who don't like wrestling find the character to be engaging and either funny or maddening, both of which are good responses for that sort of heel character to provoke.

I think the guy who suggested giving Ryder the Santino push was probably correct, but what are the odds of that happening? Probably nil, unfortunately.

 

[mral82]

I say and I think i'm might be the only one on this one but re-team him with Curt Hawkins as the Edgeheads or former Major Bros were great together. This would help Ryder as well as Hawkins and you could toss Trent Baretta and another dude w/ them as a group. Hawkins and Ryder coulda been the 2nd coming of the Freebirds.

 

[daby]

I love Zack Ryder, and I'd have him feuding and having PROMOS with wrestlers like Regal, Yoshi, Masters and Hawkins or who else is there on Superstars, and then move him in RAW USA title picture.
Even Bryan Danielson's division is a dead one.

 

[Vendetta487]

They should team him with Trent Barretta. They can do their Long Island Browski gimmick although this would mean Baretta has to get a blow-out. They can call themselves Fist Pump or some shit like that.

 

[RicSpade]

I think hes just on the wrong show, if they put him on Smackdown he'd probably had taken the place of Trent Baretta and would probably put him back together with Rosa Mendes and maybe he could go somewhere, honestly he's at Raw where he is being swallowed up by the monster heels of CM Punk, Sheamus, Miz, which makes it hard for a push, where as smackdowns biggest threat besides Kane now is Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler? C'mon Smackdown is in need of heels bad, especially if Drew is going to start playing for the other team to gain credibility.

 

[cm ben]

I think he deserves a mid-card push, other than jobbing on Superstars, but I think he needs a new gimmick. This Long Island Woo Woo Woo thing has gone too far. Give him something serious, move him to Smackdown and join the likes of Wade Barrett, Gabriel and Slater, put him in a stable first, then have him break away to the IC title picture

Yea, completely respectfully, I disagree with this 100%. The last thing WWE needs is another serious guy with no real outstanding personality traits... with a few exceptions, Ryder among them, I have no idea who a majority of the WWE roster really "is."

I remember around the time of Fatal Four Way, Zack was in an awesome match on RAW for the U.S. Title (with Miz, R-Truth, and someone else...). He looked surprisingly good in that, and because it was not a one-on-one match, the match didn't have to discredit him or his competitor. Put him in more matches like that, for starts. Also, someone suggested that he should have more promo time, and this is totally true. The man is absolutely hilarious, and he can get more fans for or against him this way.

All that said, though, does he need to get "back on track?" It's fun to have a wrestler who loses all of the time, and the irrationally overconfident Zack does a good job at it. Honestly, at least for the time being, I would probably keep him losing like this, but give him more mic time to develop his character more and make fans realize how delusionally in love with himself he is.

 

[MHardy_Fan]

I love watching long island iced Z. WWE should build him up on Superstars then get him in a significant storyline with somebody like Tyler Reks. What the heck is he doing? Let them feud over something that stemmed from a Superstars show. Would be interesting to see. Im tired of seeing these guys wrestle just for the sake of it. Let there be a story to tell through out the match. Ryder is so misused it's sad.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I like Ryder. I have always thought he was better than average in the ring, and his silly gimmick is the sort of entertaining stuff you need on a wrestling show to balance out the serious stuff.

I thought they would end up teaming him with Trent Baretta, or reuniting Hawkins and Ryder and giving them a tag-team title run. But as WWE have such little interest in teams right now, this wouldnt probably lead to anything at all for the Zack Attack.

That is what I would do though, team him up with Baretta. They wouldnt even have to wrestle as a duo, they could just accompany each other to the ring and do joint promo's etc. Ryder certainly deserves a little push to see what he can do, he is being wasted right now. Sadly, he just doesnt seem to be on WWE's radar at the moment

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I don't want to offend anyone but I think this guy stinks.

I wish they'd future endeavor him.

It might just be that they are mis-using him or a little bit of both (they are misusing him and he stinks).

I'm just not feeling it with Zack Ryder.

 

[onewayleeway69]

ZACK RYDER? i only liked this kid when he was one of the major bros. Ryder and Hawkens were pretty kool aswell. But i couldnt stand his attire one leg bigger then the other,his wooowoowoowooo on ecw and the current day Ryder I hate hes a tool. Dont know what you guys see in him but the best thing for him is to be released which i see coming soon in anyways.Then tna can release there tool Robbie E and the both of them can go to ring of honor team up as Ben and Barry and I never have to see any of them ever again coz ROH sucks. Ahhhhh We can only dream...

 

[The King]

Ryder has amazing potential. He is great in the ring, he has a great look, from what I've heard from his promos he ain't that bad on the mic. He also has one of the best entrance themes going right now. What they need is to really work him on superstars, build him up. Have him cut promos, put on great matches, then slowly bring him up to either Raw or Smackdown.

 

[DethMetal]

I know i might get blasted here, but I don't get what's so great about Zack Ryder. Once the Edgeheads split, i knew that he would have no real future with the company. People say he's a great wrestler and oozes charisma. I just don't see any of that. His gimmick sucks, and being with Edge is most likely the closest he'll ever get to a championship in the WWE...

My opinion.

 

[RendarSelin]

I guess I'm in the minority in regards to Zack Ryder. He needs one of two things: a gimmick repackage, or to be future endeavored. The "Long Island Iced Z" Gimmick is just so lame, his "Woo Woo Woo, You Know It" catchphrase just sucks, and his old attire was just awful. Even his entrance theme sucks!

What has been Zack Ryder's career highlight in recent memory? Getting knocked out by Buzz Aldrin? Outside of jobbing, I can't even imagine what Zack Ryder could do. Send him back to FCW to get him a new gimmick or make some room on the RAW roster!

Maybe a release would bring Zack Ryder some fortune. Dixie Carter loves to pay former WWE wrestlers a ton of cash.

 

[JBK2008]

I agree with The King here. Ryder does get a reaction out of the fans. His music and look annoys you soo much you just beg someone to lay him out. He does put on decent matches and can work the stick fairly well. Give him time on Superstars every week. Have him beat both Raw and SmackDown guys since he isn't really used on Raw at all. Build him up that way.

 

[airvar]

The problem isn't Ryder, or his in-ring skills, or his mic work even.. He really is a great overall package, and I personally expect him to get a push sometime in the future.. People forget how young the guy really is though. He is 25 year's old, and already has multiple years of experience ON the WWE rooster.. He will, (And should) Continue to job to talent above him on the proverbial totem pole.. The guys getting pushed right now are getting pushed because they are hitting that critical time (around 27-33) Where it's make or break in the WWE.. That's the prime of your career, and as much as age shouldn't be an issue if there is a talented superstar there are just too many people in front of Ryder at the moment.

He has year's and year's ahead of him to get over, or be built back up, and has the talent that eventually his work in the under-card and Jobbing to every person on the rooster will pay off.. I'm sure everyone see's the potential, it just simply isn't "his time" so-to speak..

 

[JGlass]

I don't know if I'd say Zack Ryder ever had GREAT matches, but he certainly had good ones. But you are right to say that Zack Ryder has a great look, character, and is very entertaining.

I don't think it would take a lot for the WWE to give Ryder a good push. He's such a memorable character that he could come back from being a Superstars fixture to being a major player on RAW or Smackdown with ease. I'd push him into the IC title picture on Smackdown, but I wouldn't put him over just quiet yet. Just put him in a few feuds, he'll win some and lose some, but at least it puts him in the spotlight for a little while. He'll slowly get pushed up the card more and more and eventually he could get a midcard title reign or a feud in the main event.

I don't think Zack Ryder could ever be a WWE Champion, but he could definitely be a major player in the WWE.

 

[WrestlingIsReal]

i dont know what people see in zack ryder but to build him up just have him win an impressive match against someone like r truth then build him from there.

 

[MoizH28]

IM A HUGE RYDER MARK WOO WOO WOO YOU KNOW IT. I have thought of a couple of ways to push him or put him in matches on raw or sd rather than superstars and heres what I came up with.

Have a backstage segment with Ryder hitting on Eve and then R Truth coming up and saying truth is your a tool or something around those lines. They can have a couple 6-8 minute matches and ryder can still not have to come out on top.

Or you can move him to Smackdown and have him try to impress Edge. He can lose the first 2-3 matches. Then Edge needs to find a partner then main event and he is desperate so he picks Ryder and Ryder pulls off a win when Edge gets "hurt" just like that over as a face.

 

[Long Island Iced WXYZ]

How can the WWE build Zack Ryder back up from obscurity?

I'm a fan of Zack Ryder, like a lot of people on here I see potential.

Start with giving him mic time. I think Ryder is great on the mic, he's great at getting the crowd to boo.

And give him more in ring time. Put him up against John Morrison (he's seem to have a lot of time on his hands lately) a crowd favorite and have him cheat to win in typical heel fashion. Get the crowd against him.

I think the promos back and forth would be great.

Move up to Bryan and the US Title. Bryan would out wrestle him no question but Ryder has the mic skills and the look to make it work.

He's got the WWWYKI, and the "Long Island Iced Z." I really like those. They could use that and build him up, look at the Rock. Not saying he's as good as the Rock, but catchphrases matter.

I think Ryder is marketable, and the WWE isn't doing anything about it. It's frustrating for fans.