Opinion: Can Zack Ryder Overcome Rusev & Become the United States Champion at “Battleground”

Zack Ryder is an underdog in every sense of the word. He got a huge boost when he won the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania 32 in perhaps the most surprising moment of the night.

It was a great moment and a great story for him that WWE got wrapped up in for one night, but it wasn’t enough since WWE officials were much more interested in giving The Miz his best run in a few years.

It took a few months, but WWE has finally started doing something with Ryder. I want him to succeed, but The Bulgarian Brute is a lot to overcome to become the United States Champion at “Battleground.”

WWE could be doing a great thing with Ryder, which is have him lose in a lot of big match situations to make him a huge underdog.

On paper, that sounds really easy to do, but the WWE Universe has to be behind him 100%. Like Sami Zayn in NXT or Daniel Bryan in 2013 kind of loyalty. Ryder doesn’t have that level of talent. I’m sorry; he just doesn’t.

I’m not saying he can’t become the US Champion, but there is something so special about Rusev with the US title. All of a sudden, he has that title, and he is a monster heel. The difference is he needs to be beating strong faces. For example, if he got wins over Sami Zayn, Neville, and other top faces, he’d have a great run.

To me, Rusev winning at “Battleground” continues to build his heel run and continues to build Ryder’s underdog character. It just makes the most sense to me, but who knows what is possible at “Summerslam.”

Do you think Zack Ryder should win the United States Championship at “Battleground?”