Months after Kane’s attack left him wheelchair-bound, Zack Ryder will have an opportunity to confront his tormentor when he and The Big Red Monster meet head-on during the free WWE Over the Limit Pre-Show event Sunday. The Pre-Show, which will stream live on YouTube.com/WWE, Facebook and WWE.com, begins at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT.
Announced during the May 14 edition of Raw SuperShow, the match could serve as the final battle in the long-brewing war between Long Island Iced-Z and The Devil’s Favorite Demon.
The bad feelings have been festering since January, when Ryder unwittingly became swept up in Kane’s “embrace the hate” campaign aimed at Ryder pal John Cena. Seemingly a pawn in Kane’s larger strategy to goad Cena into a fight, Ryder for weeks found himself on the receiving end of surprise attacks and hellacious intimidation tactics.
With the WWE Universe watching on in horror during the first Raw of the year, The Big Red Monster initially tried to drag Ryder beneath the ring and into hell. Although Ryder narrowly escaped the fiery trap, thanks to a hand from Cena, WWE’s resident broski remained an object of manipulation in Kane’s vengeful endgame.
Kane’s onslaught did not let up at all in the ensuing weeks. On the Jan. 9 edition of Raw, the masked Superstar chokeslammed Ryder off of a loading dock and onto wood pallets many feet below. The injuries that Ryder sustained as a result of the fall left him vulnerable the following week and arguably caused him to lose the United States Championship to Jack Swagger on Jan. 16.
From there, Ryder’s fate went from bad to worse. Competing against Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere Match on Jan. 23, Ryder – still feeling the effects of the attack one fortnight earlier – appeared wholly overmatched. Once the action spilled up the ramp and to the stage, Kane again set out to chokeslam Long Island Iced-Z. Only this time, The Devil’s Favorite Demon sent Ryder through the steel stage floor, causing a herniated disc for Ryder and landing the fun-loving broski in a wheelchair for several weeks.
Even while he was on the sidelines, however, Ryder could not escape Kane’s wrath. On the Feb. 13 episode of Raw, Kane again attacked, pushing Ryder and his wheelchair off the Raw stage altogether.
By all appearances, Ryder has recovered from the physical injuries he suffered at Kane’s hands earlier this year. However, there is no mistaking that the mental and emotional anguish caused is still fresh in his mind. When Kane and Randy Orton’s Falls Count Anywhere Match at Extreme Rules took them backstage, Ryder could not resist peppering The Big Red Monster with punches and forearm smashes.
Kane’s unprovoked affront against Ryder seemingly halted the Internet Wrestling Champion’s meteoric rise. Although the spiked-hair Superstar is undoubtedly outmatched physically by the 7-foot destroyer, does Ryder now have the ruthless mentality necessary to vanquish the monster? With several months to reflect on all he lost due to Kane, is Long Island Iced-Z more motivated than ever? Or will Kane, looking to rebound from his Extreme Rules loss to Orton, intensify his in-ring attack even further?
The WWE Universe will get its answer Sunday during the WWE Over the Limit Pre-Show, which streams live on YouTube.com/WWE, Facebook and WWE.com at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT Sunday
SRC- WWE.com
