10 most unexpected Number 1 Contenders for the WWE Championship

#8 Zack Ryder

Sorry, Zack

Before the rise of the Ryder Revolution, Zack Ryder was just another struggling mid-carder in the WWE’s long list of talent with no hopes of making it to the main event scene. A large part of this was what happened when he attempted to win the WWE Championship, which was then held by Sheamus.

Given an unexpected opportunity as the Number 1 Contender to The Celtic Warrior’s title, Ryder was given a harsh lesson in reality as he was squashed in just 11 seconds, making it the second-shortest WWE Championship bout of all time.