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What's the story?
Mojo Rawley spoke to Sergio Jordann on a recent episode of Dispatch about a number of subjects, one of which was the recent actions of his tag team partner, Zack Ryder. When asked about Ryder's recent action, Mojo said that he isn't worried and that frustration is an important part of professional wrestling.
In case you didn't know...
There seems to have been tension brewing between The Hype Bros for a number of months now. Things seemed to be going well for the duo towards the end of 2016 when Zack Ryder won a battle royal to position the team as number one contenders to the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship.
Ryder was injured in that match, however, and went on to miss six months of action. During that time Mojo won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, picking up a number of wins over now-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal in the process.
Since Ryder's return, success has been hard to find for the Hype Bros. After a recent loss to Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable, Ryder seemingly set the wheels in motion for a heel turn by refusing to shake Shelton and Gable's hands, leaving the ring in anger.
The heart of the matter
Following The Hype Bros' loss to Benjamin and Gable, Mojo offered his hand to the victors out of respect. After motioning Ryder to do the same, the former WWE United States and Intercontinental Champion declined, storming out of the ring in anger.
In the interview with Dispatch, Rawley spoke about the frustration the duo have felt, going on to say that he isn't worried about Ryder's actions in the slightest;
"These losses, when they mount up it is hard to keep your cool. You lose your focus and moments like that happen. I'm not making excuses for him, obviously I would have rather he had not done that, but at the same time it's a little bit of frustration, it happens"
Rawley also spoke about his WrestleMania moment and his close relationship with Charlotte Flair, among many other subjects. The full interview can be heard here.
What's next?
The WWE Universe won't have long to wait to see what happens next with Zack Ryder. The fall-out may well take place this coming Tuesday on SmackDown Live; will Ryder continue to let his frustrations show, or will The Hype Bros get back on track?
Author's take
Turning Zack Ryder heel seems like a very strange move, but WWE has made stranger decisions in the past. The Hype Bros could be a useful tag team in SmackDown's ailing division, splitting them up makes little sense. Here's hoping the duo get back on track this Tuesday, or at least turn heel as a duo.
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