Zack Ryder's Real Worth.... Your Opinion.

[Brahma_Bull9]

Ryder was never meant to make it. All the momentum Ryder had was siphoned from him. Kane beat him down so he could look more heelish in the Cena story line, and Ryder never got a proper rematch or storyline for the things Kane had done to him. Eve got loads of heat off of Ryder, but he was not going to fued against her so it hurt him even more when she low blowed him at mania and he lost the Team Teddy vs Team Johnny match.

People both inside and outside the company crap on Ryder but what they don't recognize is that he is the reason for WWE's social media initiative. Yeah Ryder's not a great wrestler and he has dumb gimmick, but he got over with the mainstream crowd cause he was entertaining. All in all I believe he really never got a fair chance.

eh... I don't know if I would credit him got the social media initiative, which is terrible btw. So even if you want to go that route, I don't know if it justifies him deserving more time.

Ryder has memorable catch phrases? Woo-woo-woo or something like bro or whatever the hell it was were just ******ed. He's awful on the mic, terrible actor, and a pretty bad wrestler. I honestly don't see any place for him and I think plenty of other people who may actually have talent are being underutilized just as much. Ryder's just a punk.

 

[Leoffler17]

I personally don't mind him. But i could never see him as a world champion. I can't even really see him with the WWE in 5 years. I mean he isn't bad in the ring, his mic skills are above average but his look absolutely kills it for me. Maybe if he had some sort of a gimmick change he could get over the mid-card hump. But until something changes, ill change the channel when he wrestles.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

He was a solid US champion. I thought he fit perfectly right there & if he ever improves move up to IC/World Title.

I can see why WWE hasn't pushed him to the moon because I don't think he is WWE Championship material or the face of a company but I think WWE could also cash in a lot more than they have.

 

[GameOver]

he's a comedy jobber and solid micarder, as far as anything else i think his 5 mins of fame have run it's course, WWE or him has axed his youtube show. he's back to barely been on TV again and even if he was i seriously lost interest a long time ago. He was never a serious contender to anything, hell even the US title was a fluke.

That and for me atleast he's too much like (or vice versa) Robbie E in TNA, it's the same basic gimmick a Jersey Snore ripoff and that doesn't appeal to me, guess reality crap (i say crap because most of it is bogus anyway) guess that does appeal to a hell of alot of people..

 

[Dirk]

GameOver 09:41 AM

That and for me atleast he's too much like (or vice versa) Robbie E in TNA, it's the same basic gimmick a Jersey Snore ripoff and that doesn't appeal to me.

It has been said repeatedly on WZ that Robbie E had his gimmick long before Sally-Ann Salsano methodically raped Italian-American culture, so did Ryder. Both these wrestlers AREN'T rip-offs form Jersey Shore. They are, however born from the same Zeitgeistual ooze.

It's a common and easy mistake to make, but now you know... I also don't know between Robbie or Ryder who had it first, so one of them IS ripping off the other, just not copying Michael Sorrentino.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Ever think this is a new direction to turn Ryder heel? Perhaps the online following has run its course, and the Company is trying something new with someone they see moderate talent in - which is slowly having him vent through Social Media, ending with Ryder blaming the fans in the very end?

And Edge is due a win! Reasonable as ever I see.

What value does Zack Ryder have to me "as an individual"? Some. Not a boat load. I like him though.

What value does Zack Ryder have to the company? More than most with a keyboard and an internet connection would be willing to admit. I honestly think there was a point where he was over enough to be in the world title scene. When you've unflipped your desk and the veins in your head have sunk back in, feel free to carry on reading.

There's this mentality - with fans and, apparently, "management" - that people have to "pay their dues" before they're allowed to do anything significant. That's all well and good, but it often results in someone languishing in the midcard until all their heat has evaporated. This isn't what happened to Zack Ryder. Rather than the preferred route of starving someone's momentum out, Vince chose the rather unusual method of stabbing Zack Ryder's momentum in the face with a broadsword until it was an unrecognisable mush. Ryder wasn't wasted; he was sabotaged.

The more I think about it, the more I think Ryder's "push" - such as it was - was an elaborate prank. Remember when he was supposedly told he was going to get a big push, turn face and have a match on Raw, only for him not to be allowed to appear on the show at all? It's basically that again, only long form:

Hey Zack, how'd you like to be US Champion? No, I'm not serious, you're gonna lose it after about a day, you cunt. Daniel Bryan's going to be world heavyweight champion for longer. I'm serious. Then Kane's going to beat the ever-loving fuck out of you, literally cripple you, and never sell a thing you do. Yes, Kane, the guy who pretends to be a demon. That'll make people take you seriously. Then you'll only appear on television to-- scratch that, you'll probably never get on television. If that somehow doesn't get you over, well, it'll be quite the headscratcher.​

Zack Ryder was over. Very over. Then he was put in a storyline more ridiculous than a corgi in a Christmas jumper, before getting about the same level of exposure as he did as he did when he was a Superstars mainstay.

It's not so much the Zack Ryder part of this which irritates me, it's what this is symbolic of. The message is clear: Vince won't get you over, you won't get yourself over, you're not allowed to be over under any circumstances; if you somehow get over, it's a brief sabotage and then back to from whence you came. Maybe I'm making assumptions, but the way Ryder was handled seems too monumentally stupid to be the usual breathtaking incompetence.

As for "complaining"? I don't think it's reprehensible, nor is it admirable. Some people will paint him as a mewling quim, others as some brass-balled badass who's standing up for himself. He's neither to me. What I will say is that I think he's been remarkably restrained in any case. For example, here's a Zack Ryder tweet:

"They dropped the ball with me. Buy my t-shirt. #WWWYKI"

But here's what I would have tweeted if I was in his situation:

"I'm going to eat a load of bread. Tons of it. Loaves and loaves. Finally, when I just can't hold it anymore, I'm going to take the monster of all shits. Long, hard and firm. I'm going to fish it out of the toilet, drive to Vince McMahon's house and rape every member of his family to death with it. #Makeshift*****"

Too many characters?

 

[boywithbluehanger]

It's not so much the Zack Ryder part of this which irritates me, it's what this is symbolic of. The message is clear: Vince won't get you over, you won't get yourself over, you're not allowed to be over under any circumstances; if you somehow get over, it's a brief sabotage and then back to from whence you came. Maybe I'm making assumptions, but the way Ryder was handled seems too monumentally stupid to be the usual breathtaking incompetence.

Yes you are making assumptions but I certainly see the validity in your reasoning. Although he definitely rushed a lot of his moves in the ring due to his excitement of being embraced by the crowd, he was still one of the most anticipated wrestlers around the time of his push. He got screwed over big time by Vince and seemingly for nothing at all. It reminds me of the way Vince treated Daniel Bryan after the ridiculous amount of support that he received after WM. For weeks Vince had the audio guys mute the "YES!" chants and seemed intent on burying him. It wasn't until the support of DB was starting to interfere with the show that Vince figured he'd oughta capitalize on it by deciding to give Bryan a shot.

The only differences between what Ryder went through and what DB experienced, were the crowd response and Vince's ultimate decision. The crowd stopped the "We want Ryder" chants and Vince decided that his push was no longer necessary. Instead of Creative thinking about how to use Ryder as a mid-card babyface asset (like Kofi Kingston), they looked at Ryder and for whatever reason came to the conclusion that they should treat him as if they were Rex Ryan and Ryder were Tebow. I think at the end of the day, they're allowing history to repeat itself. They could have groomed John Morrison for a mid-card babyface role and they gave him the boot too. Maybe they actually have something in mind and no amount of fan support will mater until they find it.

 

[essdee19]

Ryder is good for where he is at I had no issiue with him being in the us tittle picture but seeing how he was lower midcard most of his wwe run I can't be mad. It was cool to see him get a buzz but people need to quit making him out as a god

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

There's a line of relevance where I just stop caring about WWE Superstars. The line is drawn when WWE stops using them frequently, and it is clear they've become nothing more than a pop pony to trot out whenever they need to kill time and draw a cheap reaction from the live crowd. Ryder totes that line, as in early 2012 it appeared as if he had finally found his spot. But I was among those who predicted at Survivor Series that WWE was goign to give him the US title, and then drain his reaction in order to feed to John Cena. And I was completely right; his sole purpose was to further empower the Kane and Cena feud, with some added drama by Eve. And then he didn't matter, so WWE casted him away.

But it could be worse. Ryder could be one of the undercard guys that WWE uses to fill house shows, that isn't even worthy of being a pop pony. And yes, I am hereby trademarking that phrase, bitches. Just in case you care, here's where I draw the line in WWE:

Heath Slater
Sin Cara
________________________________
Brodus Clay
Zack Ryder
Drew McIntyre
David Otunga
...
...
..
.
Hornswoggle
...
...
..
..
.
Finlay's ballsack
Jinder Mahal

 

[The Perfect Max]

Zack Ryder has fallen so far from grace that I believe there isn't a way you can bring him back to the popularity he had towards the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. WWE dropped the ball by putting him in that stupid feud with John Cena and Kane. After that, we've seen him how much of WWE TV? Very little. Before that, I figured he would be a long-reigning United States Champion. I thought he could have been a good Intercontinental Champion. I doubt a World title would have been in his future because I think his character wasn't up to that level.

But, since he lost the United States Championship in early 2012, he has competed at WrestleMania XXVIII and that's about it. Sorry to see, but unfortunately he has no use in the WWE, especially in my eyes, and therefore he'd be best off somewhere else.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Zack Ryder reminds me way too much of Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake... And even more so when he was tagging along with John Cena. It felt just like how Beefcake used to latch onto Hogan. After Beefcake lost his luster they kept him around Hogan in hopes his stardom would rub off... It's the same damn thing with Cena "going to bat" for Ryder time and time again. It's not going to pay off because Ryder is a novelty act.

Maybe I'm the minority but I never cared too much about him after he started the whole Jersey Shore knock-off... That could be in part due to the fact that I would have liked to have set that entire cast of people on fire for being a detriment to the intelligence of young people everywhere.

Ryder has some good in-ring ability, but I think the fact that he latched and sunk his teeth into a novelty character is going to turn around and bite him in the ass. He's the one-hit wonder equivalent in pro-wrestling.

Maybe I'm wrong and Ryder will find another gimmick to get over with... but once the Jersey Shore appeal starts wearing off and some new hip lingo starts, he's going to be completely left behind.

 

[akathelaw]

My Zack Ryder POWER RANKING:

Look: Good midcard physique, looks like a large cruiser weight or a potential main event underdog. He wears decent ring gear and sticks to a memorable color scheme. He usually is selling a t-shirt, and they look ok but not for me. His hair is often odd looking, spiked in a uniquely ugly way. He appears like a college frat boy, not a world champion.
3 out of 5 stars

Mic work: Woo Woo Woo you know it is his catchphrase, and he has stuck with it for a few years. I think the phrase has become worn out, yet it is still his main talking point. He has failed to use his YouTube outlet or WWE TV to further a feud, program or storyline in a very long time. Overall Zack comes off goofy, relaxed, and complacent when he is tasked with addressing the crowds.
2 out of 5 stars

Ring work: I have seen him do well in the past, yet he has a lot of learning to do. He has established a set of signature moves and a finisher, but they need a little work to get him above his current spot.
3 out of 5 stars

Overall: It is difficult to see Ryder winning any championships in WWE other than the WWE tag team championships. It will depend on whether Ryder can find a partner of championship quality. Honestly, it seems WWE management has lost faith in him. He released a track on iTunes on Monday but wasn't featured on Raw. Maybe he can win an X-Division or TNA TV championship before he retires.

 

[Parasrampur]

Personally I'm not his biggest fan but I respect the fact that he used his own initiative and done something to be recognised.
Instead of just running his mouth he actually used action.

He could be worth something to the company but he's running his mouth a fair bit on twitter apparently and that's something that just shouldn't be done no matter how frustrated you are, unfortunately that's not going to help him.

I think he should just leave if he is really that upset.

 

[Rayne]

I sympathize with Zack Ryder, quite a bit. From our perspective, he is quite possibly the hardest working guy in the WWE. Everyone hits the weight room, everyone gets their time in between the ropes before shows. Zack Ryder didn't settle for what everyone else is doing, and started working on his own initiative to be successful. Brass balls, with the company he works for!

His YouTube show and routine have grown stale, but even he can't be blamed for that. He gave the WWE a gift-wrapped 9:55-10:10pm package. He had a product people actually wanted to watch, and he got people to watch it without using the WWE's marketing machine. If the people running the show in Stamford didn't have their heads up their asses, they might have noticed that one of their performers was rapidly becoming popular, all by himself. If they weren't busy comparing the smell of their own assholes, they would have figured out a way to use that to make money for themselves, instead of absolutely burying him so that John Cena had something to do in February last year.

I'm hard pressed to see a way that the WWE could reinflate the Zack Ryder character at this point, without another character overhaul. I'm also hard pressed to see why they'd want to, now that everything you'd use about him is shot. TNA also doesn't appear to be a promotion that would give him the flexibility that made the Zack Ryder character so popular in 2011. (Yes, I know, they write their own promos, omg.)

Zack Ryder should serve as a harsh lesson to everyone here under the age of eighteen. If you're smart and ambitious, don't let anyone else find out about that. It scares the shit out of everyone else and they will do whatever they can to stop you.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

I'm a fan of Zack Ryder. How much is he worth to me? Not that much right now. However, I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. Back when he was Tag Teaming with buddy Curt Hawkins, I thought they were as disposable as the Dudebusters. Sure, all of these guys were talented in the ring, but they didn't have anything special to offer beyond what they did in the ring. I'm talking about characters and mic work and lasting impressions for why anyone should care. Then when Zack Ryder got repackaged on ECW and was actually doing pretty well for his initial run, I found him downright annoying and stupid. He didn't get over with me as a heel in his Jersey Shore gimmick. Before you know it, he was jobbing left and right before eventually turning face and taking to the internet with his YouTube show. That's when he showed his charisma and that he really could be a good player. While I don't agree with how quickly the WWE halted his United States title reign (since that could have been the beginning of a constant mid-card contention with mid-card title victories), I do feel that his rants are not only somewhat justified, but that it could all be a relevant storyline in the process. Anyone remember Hurricane? He went years with that silly gimmick jobbing day in and day out, never to be taken seriously. Yes, he won titles and even got a win over The Rock, but come on, his career was not being propelled to the top like that. Then it happened. His character got frustrated on television, attacked his then-partner Rosey and discarded the Hurricane gimmick altogether. He was repackaged as Shane Helms the villain and what did that do for him? Give him one of the longest Cruiserweight title reigns of all time. That might not have significance compared to other titles, but it's what he did to be a serious competitor that changed the entire picture. The same can be applied to Zack Ryder. He has the skills to do it. If he can get repackaged as a serious heel by ditching his current gimmick and adopting vicious moves, he has a second chance to rise to the top of the mid-card again and hopefully stay there on a consistent level rather than fall into a slump of obscurity. Hell, maybe he should do another show as a heel where he constantly takes jabs at other wrestlers and mocks them/makes fun of them. Whatever.

 

[BobbyRoode444]

I have never been a fan of Zack Ryder matches.

In his current state he really doesnt have much worth. Change in gimmick and heel turn would really serve him well, good enough that I could see him in the World Title picture. Although, I think his in ring work is not at the level it needs to be for him to have long term value in a main event setting.

 

[wrestlingfan]

I actually preffered the Zack Ryder on ECW from 09-010 than the Ryder now. As the Long Island Loudmouth, who was basically a jock frat boy, he played his role perfectly and had great matches with Christian.

 

[byrnside]

I like Zack Ryder. He's not the greatest in-ring talent that WWE has right now, but he is still pretty good and, as we've seen, can connect with the crowd. I just think a lot of us that aren't die hard Ryder fans are burnt out on his character. It legitimately pains me to see him squashed week after week when just over a year ago he was a hot commodity. I've read the reports recently about him lobbying for a serious change in his character, and I say go for it. I've been thinking for weeks that he needs a heel turn.

 

[second best in the world]

I think Zack has potential to be a key piece in the wwe's future. His in ring abilities are limited but he can sell moves and seats. When he was feuding with Dolph at Survivor Series he had the biggest pop of the night next to the Rock with we want Ryder chants and a large portion of the crowd wearing his merchandise. If wwe can put him in another mid card title feud instead of burying him they could do this again