Last week saw WWE management furlough or release dozens of employees and Superstars due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While most of the names on the list weren't surprising, there were a few people fans were shocked to see included.

One of those names was Zack Ryder, whose real name is Matt Cardona. At the time of his release, he had been with WWE for almost 15 years going back to his time in the developmental system.

Ryder debuted on the revamped version of ECW in May 2007 as one half of The Major Brothers alongside Curt Hawkins. They were billed as brothers due to their similar appearance but once they aligned with Edge as members of La Familia, they began going by Ryder and Hawkins.

The Long Island native is a former tag team, United States and intercontinental champion in addition to being a three-time Slammy award winner. 

People might like to categorize Ryder as a bro who is more worried about partying, tanning and buying action figures than he is with his career, but he is actually a trailblazer who helped change professional wrestling forever.

The YouTube Superstar

With all of the different platforms WWE has, it's easy to forget there was a time when the company was behind the rest of the entertainment world when it came to social media.

Twitter, Facebook Instagram and YouTube were barely being used to promote the product before Ryder forced management to see how important these services are to creating relationships with the WWE Universe.

When he first began making episodes of Z! True Long Island Story, he did it because he wasn't being booked well or challenged creatively by WWE, and he needed an outlet for his ideas that did not have to go through a company filter. 

The videos were designed to help get him over while he wasn't being used on television. He would often vent his frustrations with vlogs, comedic segments and jokes at both the company's and his own expense.

The videos were an instant hit, and fans began taking notice immediately. As the show grew in popularity, so did the Long Islander. 

Matt Hardy, who was one of the first wrestlers to harness the power of the internet with The Hardy Show, praised Ryder on Twitter:

All Elite Wrestling's Cody Rhodes also shared some kind words about his friend on Instagram:

"I'd like to take a moment to say how proud I am to be a friend of @zryder85—In a world of weekend warriors and "play wrestlers", this dude exudes passion and drive for pro-wrestling like no other. Through 14 years to see him CONSISTENTLY try to better himself (whether that be his in-ring work, or watching him physically mold himself and his body into such a specimen DRUG FREE with hard work and will). I have a little rule, and that's that if you've ever "gotten over" in wrestling...you can always do so again. That rule being fully applicable to Matt now."

WWE Can't Ignore His Popularity

Soon, fans were chanting "We want Ryder" during matches involving other Superstars at shows where he wasn't booked. It was a grassroots movement that took him from being someone who couldn't get booked to being one of the most popular stars on the roster.

His merchandise was selling out, and the crowd was regularly filled with kids and adults wearing The Broski's shirts and headbands. 

While he continued making episodes for his personal YouTube channel, other Superstars began to take notice and would often appear on the show to support their friend. Dolph Ziggler became a frequent contributor and John Cena even made an appearance in one episode.

As each video gained him more popularity, WWE had no choice but to begin using him on television. Ryder quickly found himself not only getting more time on Raw, but he was also named the assistant SmackDown general manager in 2011 so he could appear on both shows.

He even found himself sharing a ring with Wolverine himself. Hugh Jackman helped The Broski defeat Ziggler on a 2011 episode of Raw, helping him earn a U.S. title shot in the process.

The peak of Ryder's run happened at the post-TLC 2011 edition of Raw. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Ryder celebrated their respective title wins from the pay-per-view in front of thousands of screaming fans.

They were internet darlings who made it to the top of the mountain in the largest promotion in the world. It's not the kind of moment WWE gives us all the time. 

WWE Learns From Ryder's Success

When Ryder first started making these videos in 2011, WWE's YouTube channel was nothing like it is today. It mostly consisted of commercials for its pay-per-views and the occasional recap of a big moment. There was no original content and each video was barely getting over 100,000 views if it was lucky. 

Nowadays, the official WWE YouTube channel posts several videos every day. Most are recaps and replays but there is also a lot of original content, top-10 lists and everything else you could imagine. The company will even upload full versions of classic matches sometimes.

In fact, Ryder hosted another show called Zack Ryder's Iced 3 where he would look at three classic matches. He made sure to include a Major Brothers bout just because he could.

The Broski's use of other social media platforms helped him gain more new fans as his stock continued to rise in WWE. His success is why the company took such a strong approach to social media in 2012. 

Remember when Michael Cole was forced to plug WWE's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Vine and Tout accounts every 10 minutes in 2013? It was annoying but WWE can now boast more social media followers than almost any other organization in sports and entertainment.

Management eventually convinced Ryder to move his show to the main WWE channel while it began producing videos for other talents to show off their personalities. The JBL and Cole Show is just one example of a series that was inspired by his comedic efforts.

The Broski's show became more polished, but it also lost the charm of being an independent project produced outside of the company. When it reached 100 episodes, Ryder and WWE pulled the plug. 

Now, tons of WWE Superstars have their own YouTube channels. Asuka does a variety of things on hers, Sheamus has his Celtic Warrior Workouts, The Bella Twins have a branded channel with 2.8 million subscribers, and stars such as R-Truth post original music. Ryder helped pave the way for these people to be successful outside of the ring.

Xavier Woods and the UpUpDownDown! crew have amassed over two million followers and featured out-of-character interviews with everyone from Stephanie McMahon and Randy Orton to Zelina Vega and Aleister Black. When it comes to Twitch, it feels like almost every wrestler has their own channel these days.

Ryder didn't just force change in his own company, though. Many wrestlers outside of WWE took notice and began promoting themselves online in various ways.

Other Superstars Follow in Ryder's Footsteps 

Here, Bleacher Report's Erik Beaston (@ErikBeaston) breaks down how Ryder helped inspire others to use YouTube to get themselves over:

In hindsight, Ryder revolutionized the wrestling landscape. Without his Z! True Long Island Story laying the groundwork for wrestlers to present themselves, their characters and their creativity to the masses, there is a strong likelihood The Young Bucks would not have concocted Being The Elite, which became a platform for them and their friends to tell stories and have fun without the constraints of Ring of Honor or New Japan Pro-Wrestling storylines.

That show became such a hit and allowed the Bucks, Cody, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page to become popular enough for a billionaire from Jacksonville named Tony Khan to take a risk and create an entire company centered around them.

All Elite Wrestling exists, directly or indirectly, because Ryder showed the entire sports-entertainment industry what the power of social media could mean to its long-term success and sustainability.

The major companies like AEW and WWE aren't the only ones benefiting from Ryder's advancements. Indie wrestlers such as Danhausen and Warhorse have huge followings on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, something the former directly attributed to Ryder in a grateful post:

The industry is alive and thriving, indie promotions have greater visibility and their wrestlers have followings they never would have had without Ryder providing the framework on how to get yourself over when management cannot be bothered to.

That, perhaps, is his legacy in the industry, for which an entire generation of wrestlers should be aware and thankful for.

A big thanks to Erik Beaston for his contributions to this article. You can follow Cardona on Twitter and see him and Hawkins on The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast. Follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.