Zack Ryder would perfectly fit AEW’s sensibilities

It should come as no surprise that the original reigning and defending Internet Champion Zack Ryder would fit AEW like a hand in a glove, if he decided to make the jump. Which, judging from some recent findings, seems like a real possibility.

By way of some clever sleuthing (or snooping, or journalism, all depends on perspective), Paul Davis of the WrestlingNews.Co discovered that former WWE Superstar Zack Ryder recently filed a trademark for “Internet Champion.” Which wouldn’t be such a juicy cocktail of news if he hadn’t received his trademark services from the same man who has done similar work for several AEW stars in the past.

This has led a lot of people to speculate that Ryder’s next and first post-WWE destination is AEW, which begs the question: why should we care? Because Ryder in AEW would make a perfect fit.

Think about what AEW has always been about since the very beginning: the internet. Whether it be promoting All Elite Wrestling by means of their Being the Elite series or selling stories via social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter, AEW has always been all about the internet. Even before AEW ever got a TV or PPV deal, they highlighted crossover matches from other promotions online.

And yet, none of this would have been possible without Zack Ryder’s influence.

Let’s never forget that the way Zack Ryder was able to successfully get over on the internet in 2011 has become a tentpole for how wrestlers promote themselves online. Despite often not even appearing on WWE TV, Ryder was able to amass a legion of millions of viewers and followers from around the world, thanks in part to Z! True Long Island Story.

Everything Ryder did over on social media and his YouTube show seems like old hat now, but at the time, what Ryder was doing was new and taboo. It’s hard to imagine so many other wrestling entities on the internet (including both AEW and WWE’s own approach to social media) gaining as much traction without Ryder’s influence.

Because it was such a new, fresh way to go about things in wrestling, WWE failed to lean into it originally, whilst also failing to lean into catering to his new following with a push beyond putting the United States Championship on him for a month.

But thankfully, years after the fact, it doesn’t seem so taboo. Ryder’s knowledge and approach to social media would be encouraged and maybe rewarding in the realm of All Elite Wrestling. It wouldn’t look out of place to see Ryder insert himself into a future episode of Being the Elite or promoting himself and his matches via Twitter, as so many wrestlers do now.

Hopefully, when all of this is over, we’ll regularly be seeing Zack Ryder ending episodes of BTE by telling us to “Take care … spike your hair.”