>>17806382You're completely missing the point. This isn't about Ryder being the next face of the company or some indie messiah. It's about WWE refusing to capitalize on a red hot moment that literally fell into their lap. In 2011, Zack Ryder was one of the most over guys in the company and WWE didn’t have to do a damn thing to make it happen. No weeks of hype packages. No authority figure blessing. He wasn’t handed 15 minute promos. He just got over organically through pure fan connection. And rather than say “hey, maybe we should ride this wave,” they:
>Gave him a bare minimum push (which still popped the crowd huge),>Immediately made him a comedy jobber in a love triangle that made him look like a loser,>pulled the rug out before anything could evolve.That’s just bad business.
Momentum is everything. Ryder in 2011 was the kind of breakout moment you can’t manufacture. And instead of riding that heat into a legitimate fan favorite presence, they used him to make Cena look like a hero and Kane look scary again. He went from Internet Champion to a dude in a wheelchair getting embarrassed in a matter of weeks.
