What if Zack Ryder had won the WWE Championship?

#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.