WWE Screwing Ryder, #AreYouSeriousBro?

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I called it immediately after WWE's December TLC pay-per-view last year. Zack Ryder got himself over, and WWE used that fan-created popularity to benefit John Cena until the well ran dry. The entire Ryder/Kane/Eve angle was done solely to help get Cena over and ready for WrestleMania 28 - anybody who thinks it was for the best interest of Zack Ryder and his career is just stupid.

But here's where things get fun... This idea that Ryder got himself over and didn't need the WWE machine is hilarious. Without a WWE contract, a WWE stage, a WWE-enabled Twitter account and millions of WWE fans Ryder would be nothing but a clown on the internet. Compared to other viral videos out there, Ryder isn't even remotely entertaining. WWE internet fans just love jumping on the underdogs bandwagon. Ryder knew it. WWE knew it. You want an image of what would have happened to Ryder without the WWE machine? Go take a look at Robbie E in TNA...

He's a mediocre wrestler, with below average ring skills. He's not believable in any of his promos. Eve is actually a better actor, and that's really not saying much. The only thing keeping him afloat is his ability to make the crowd chant shit... His YouTube videos are boring, cheesy and only hold appeal for their "shoot" moments with guys like John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler.

So, is Zack Ryder getting screwed by the WWE? No. They pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars, let him compete in front of tens of thousands of fans every night, and give him an avenue to pursue his dreams. The fact that he even made it into main events with guys like John Cena is just ridiculous. Even if last November and December was the whole highlight of Ryder's career, it was much more than I ever though he could attain in professional wrestling.

The kid has heart, I'll give him that. He worked his ass off and is great at self-promotion. Check. So he really shouldn't worry too much... When he's out of a job and has to travel around getting autograph bookings and working VFW halls, he should make a killing.

 

[UltimateHitman]

People can argue that it was the WWE that made it possible for Zack being known in the first place (since they employed him), but that's a fucking cop-out excuse and you know it.

He was a barely noticed jobber employee until he garnered his own attention. After that, WWE saw dollar signs and a way to leech momentum off of him, it's that fucking simple.

The proof is in the MidCard Mafia. If WWE was so encouraging of their talent to garner interest that they do not garner through their own ego-stroking methods, why would they shut that down the minute it was out of the gate?

Why? Because the corporate ego is so fragile they hate being shown to be wrong and hate not being able to take the credit for anything. If you don't know that obvious fact about corporate mentality, then I feel the utmost pity for you.

They want to be able to direct you, to control you. That's what business, sales, marketing, etc. is about. It's about herding you the way they want you to go in order to continue to make more money for themselves. It's a very simple concept that people always either overlook out of denial or are simply blind to.

Look at how quick they were to pump out the Ryder merch and then milk the shit out of it to make you buy it. Hell, look how fast they threw out that shitty looking YES! shirt. Something caught on that they didn't force feed you, and they had to make sure they got the most money sucked out of it before the possibility of it going the way of a quick fad became reality.

Yes, they resented the way Ryder gained his popularity. Plus, they were red in the face that he was getting attention when they wanted your attention elsewhere (Rock/Cena).

Again, if they didn't, they wouldn't have squashed the MidCard Mafia and made sure they stayed in the background. They started recently kicking around ideas with Drew themselves because, if he did break out of his stagnation, they could take the credit and use that credit to keep tight control over their employee base. They definitely didn't want more guys thinking they could do what they wanted to get themselves over. Then they might question your direction or... "GASP!"... ask for more money!

Think about it instead of throwing out the cliche, meaningless "oh, he just sucked and people realized it" bullshit. It doesn't matter if he "sucks" in the ring. That's not the topic. Whether he does or not is irrelevant to the argument. What's relevant is the popularity he built, the fact he garnered his own popularity, and that this popularity was not welcomed.

If sucking in the ring is the only thing people cared about, Hogan would have fizzled before his first year and Ziggler would already be a world champ.