Can You Take the Bull by the Horns in WWE Nowadays?

Ryder's Youtubage is underrewarded

Zack Ryder is a self-made star, at least on the Internet he is. I doubt that anyone in WWE told him to go on Youtube and create Z! True Long Island Stories, but he did. He has gotten a cult following in the truest sense of the term. If you would believe Ultimate Warrior, Ryder was making his own way and should be on his way to bigger things. Back in the '80s, according to Warrior, via his Randy Savage tribute, they didn't have guys holding their hands, and everyone made their own way. I can believe that, because I believe the business was different back then, at least at the top levels of it.

So, did those changes eliminate the need for self-starters in the wrestling business? I have to think that's the case since Ryder rarely gets off Superstars and has such a low profile with the people who don't follow him in Youtube that he gets dismal reactions at house shows. But why? Ryder gets an organic reaction, which is something the WWE desperately needs. Instead of cultivating that into something the entire crowd at large can either appreciate or learn to hate as a heel, he maybe gets a token high five with John Cena on RAW and a match on the Internet show that barely anyone in the main audience watches anymore.

Of course, this could be a fallacious argument, because aside from Triple H and probably John Cena and CM Punk, it's really unknown how much input the rest of the roster has on their development and their angles. The overly scripted nature of promos nowadays would suggest that it's limited, and if guys came up with their own angles, would there be a need for the extensive writing staff WWE has? I don't know. Still, it feels like the show is just so controlled and inorganic at times that I wouldn't be surprised that the writers might not take kindly to someone doing their job for them, especially icky wrestlers.

So here we are, with the business fundamentally changed. Is it for the better? Given that we see shit like SuperCena, Randy Orton jizzing all over his competition and angles getting start-stopped all the time mixing in too much with the good stories the WWE tells, maybe it's not. All I know is that I do want to see more Zack Ryder. He steals the show on Superstars nearly every week and he's got charisma to spare as shown through his Youtube channel. Maybe initiative needs to be rewarded more often.

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