Smark Out Moment

Welcome to the eighth installment of BELT OR BURY, wherein you must choose between two different options for a particular wrestler in question: a) should they be given a push to a higher spot on the card and a championship or b) should they be jobbed out or possibly even released? Factoring in that wrestler's past as well as their potential future, do they have anything left to offer but aren't being utilized well enough, or should they step out of the limelight and be pushed aside in favor of others?



HISTORY & CURRENT STATUS: The inspiration for Zack Ryder being the latest featured person on this segment is his recent Intercontinental Championship win and subsequent loss in a 24 hour time span. Most people didn't see him as having any chance at winning that match, and the response to him winning the belt seemed to be extremely divisive with some people loving it and a lot of others absolutely hating it. A good portion of the WWE Universe called a quick title loss very soon after he won the belt, which was confirmed after The Miz defeated him on Monday Night Raw. This week's edition of SmackDown was Zack Ryder's rematch clause and he was unsuccessful in regaining the championship. Was this a fluke in a good way or a bad way?

TAG TEAM BELT: YES

One of Zack Ryder's strengths is being a big fish in a small pond. I'm not a big fan of The Hype Bros compared to several other teams like American Alpha, Enzo & Cass, and so on, but I do see some value in it. More so, my problem with the two of them as a duo rests in Mojo Rawley, so I'd be down to see Ryder team up with someone who suits him more and to get a run with the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Then again, I would be fine with the two of them holding those belts, too—so long as it's well after a long reign from American Alpha, as it's just far too early to take those titles off those guys and I want to see them hold the belts for many, many months.

Some possible tag team partners I'd be cool with Ryder partnering up with are Alex Riley, Damien Sandow (a sort of Odd Couple of dumb and smart), and maybe, just maybe Darren Young if he were to showcase his party side like he used to, but then again, this team would be total jobbers, wouldn't they?

MIDCARD BELT: MAYBE

I'm on the fence with this. So many people absolutely despised the idea of him as the Intercontinental champion, but I was actually on board with it. I didn't think he had a chance of having a long reign with it, though, which is why I can't wholeheartedly put him in a "yes" for this. If WWE hadn't spent the past few years making him seem like less than an afterthought, I would be firmly saying he should be in title contention.

Rehab is the key. Having Ryder win this belt and drop it so fast just kills the idea of him being credible. It would take a lot of rehabilitation to his character's worth to be able to justify giving him a decent midcard title reign.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BELT: NO

Bottom line, there's only one championship right now and with people like Roman Reigns, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, Chris Jericho, Triple H, The Undertaker, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Randy Orton and so on in contention for that, I can't see Ryder ever being a justifiable guy to put in that position.


Look, is Zack Ryder the best ever? Nope. However, he got a raw deal back when he was extremely popular, and that's a shame, as he has quite a bit to offer. Still, as much as I dig the guy and think people bash him far, far too much, there are much bigger fish to fry and I wouldn't want to see him take up a spot over a lot of other people. I wouldn't go so far as to say he should be future endeavored by any means, nor would I even want to see him continue being someone who loses on Superstars and Main Event like he has done for the past few years, but if I have a gun to my head and I'm forced to choose between one extreme of being the top of the company or being a jobber, I have to sadly book Ryder to be on the losing end.