What if Zack Ryder had won the WWE Championship?

After Zack Ryder split off from Curt Hawkins, in a tag team really only known for being Edge’s sidekicks done up to look like him, after Ryder was rebranded in a Long Island bro gimmick, and after the initial luster of that gimmick on ECW wore off, the guy looked lost. He was talented and he was enthusiastic, but WWE just didn’t seem to have any idea of how to use him.

As Ryder became a less and less presence on TV, he took to YouTube, and his Z! True Long Island Story show became an unlikely success story in building its own following, drawing social media attention, and even getting live audiences to chant Ryder’s name. All of a sudden this overlooked talent had a buzz that very few other guys on the roster could compete with.

There was a brief spell when WWE caved to the pressure. Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship and got the rub of being pushed as John Cena’s friend. However, just as quickly as that momentum built, and whispers began of him broaching legitimate main event status, the rug got pulled out from under him and he slipped back to the mid-card shuffle, then back to mostly obscurity.

What if WWE had struck while the iron was hot, though, and experimented with Ryder winning his way all the way to the top as WWE Champion? This article looks at five potential outcomes.

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#5 Zack Ryder And John Cena Team Up

Cena and Ryder may have become a modern version of the Mega Powers.

While Zack Ryder had his internet-based fandom behind him, there was still a credibility gap for him to overcome with everyday joes. After all, he hadn’t exactly been booked like a world beater. He had a good physique but was no physical specimen like Braun Strowman. He was fully competent in the ring but did not have the jaw-dropping move set of a Rey Mysterio.

WWE had pitched Ryder as John Cena’s buddy and if they wanted to go all the way with Ryder in the main event, the next logical step would be to formalize his team with Cena. Together, they might have been something like a modern day Mega Powers, with Cena having his friends back, and further legitimizing him by consistent association.

We might have even seen this duo square off with other star tandems of the day and headline some PPVs while Ryder more fully got his footing as a marquee guy.

#4 Zack Ryder vs John Cena

A proper feud with John Cena would have better established Zack Ryder.

There were hints that Zack Ryder and John Cena could have been pushed something like a modern day Mega Powers—complete with undertones for the brief time they were associated, with Ryder dating Eve Torres and getting jealous after her. If WWE were to have gone all the way with this booking, there would have been an unavoidable climax—Ryder ultimately facing off with Cena.

Might Ryder have won? If WWE really wanted to get him over, there would be few better victories to book him for, not only for credibility’s sake, but because of the crossover factor that Internet savvy fans were particularly high on Ryder, and persistently especially down on Cena. Ryder might have emerged as something like a Daniel Bryan or CM Punk in that scenario—an underdog and meta-hero rising up to represent the hardcore fans against the perceived corporate chosen one.

#3 CM Punk Cut Short

Ryder getting pushed to the top would have affected CM Punk's historic title run.

Had WWE gone all in on Zack Ryder, it would have meant doing so in late 2011 into early 2012. On one hand, it would have been a reasonable time to gamble on a less proven talent like Ryder in a top spot. On the other hand, WWE was already stepping outside its comfort zone at that time with CM Punk.

WWE quite arguably bungled Punk’s biggest momentum coming out of his white-hot summer of 2011. They made an effort to make up for it in the months to follow when he won the WWE Championship in Madison Square Garden at Survivor Series, pinning Alberto Del Rio to kick-start a year-plus reign with the title.

Punk’s reign was largely a success, seeing him through a solid WrestleMania feud with Chris Jericho, a heel turn, and ultimately getting to square off with The Rock. Perhaps Ryder and Punk would have feuded and traded the title, but with each a relative up and comer, they more likely each would have been cast mostly against better-established opponents. That means for Ryder to reign, we probably wouldn’t have had nearly as significant of a title run for Punk.

#2 YouTubing Becomes A Main Event Activity

Other top stars may have taken to YouTube, too, if Zack Ryder's run had set that template.

Zack Ryder largely pioneered the use of YouTube and social media for a WWE talent to create his own push. One could argue that his efforts worked, as he did have a stint far better featured than he previously had been, and certainly emerged from the pack of under-utilized talents to form an organic connection with the fans. Likewise, WWE choice to push everyone to be on social media and generate original content for the Internet can be traced back to what Ryder was doing before any of it was en vogue.

However, WWE seemed to almost punish him for working around them, given how de-pushed he was as 2012 went on. Had WWE leaned into what Ryder was doing for himself, and Ryder leaned back with his best efforts yet, it may well have set a template for how talents WWE would steer talents they wanted to push from the start. Maybe The Shield would have had their own Internet show, or Braun Strowman would display feats of strength several times a week on social media. As such, self-directed Internet behavior may become not only something lower card guys did to get noticed but something main eventers did routinely.

#1 The Roman Empire Deferred

Zack Ryder's success may have impacted Roman Reigns' prospects.

The consensus is that Vince McMahon decided early on Roman Reigns was his next, and quite possibly his last chosen one to represent WWE as the face of the company. Zack Ryder’s window to become a main event guy transpired just as Reigns was debuting on the main roster, and long before he broke out as a singles wrestler—thus the two reigning as world champions might have happened in adjacent eras, and not been mutually exclusive.

However, if WWE had committed to having Ryder on top, it might have been emblematic of a cultural shift to catering toward hardcore fans, rather than focusing on the more casual base and continuing to try to draw in the mainstream.

As such, a muscle-bound hero like Reigns may not have been the direction the company opted to go in, focusing more on talents like Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, or Finn Balor in the years ahead—or perhaps other guys with the Internet entrepreneurial spirit of a Xavier Woods.