This season has turned Wukong into a punching bag.
He can only get ahead if his allies do not feed.
If you've feeding allies then you'll end up becoming food.
There are many "supports" who won't ward bot and many ADC's who won't stop pushing blindly; so, ganking bot at 6 is a coin flip.
Mid is a difficult gank zone for Wu because he cannot take turret aggro and neither can most mid laners and most mid laners have somje form of CC, a reliable escape, or both. So, Wu's early damage on mid requires he at least has red buff to help secure a kill.
Top lane is full of tanks and those who counter them. Wu is a melee and he's built as an assassin; so, he's countered by both. If your top lane doesn't have some sort of CC to lock the enemy top down then ganking that lane is problematic.
Wu has exceptional early burst in lane, especially with ignite. At level 2, he can kill most any top lane, including a tank. You just need to have wards down constantly to give you vision against the enemy jg. They will gank you if you extend up to the river and shut you down and render you useless for the next 10+ minutes of the game. Zombie ward can help as long as you do NOT tunnel vision CS. Freezing the lane is imperative for Wu while farming...as in last hit with AA's only.
Hydra remains an effective farming tool for Wu and gives him sustain he otherwise lacks and cull can give you additional gold to help compensate the difference against the popular kleptoslut picks.
Black Cleaver is an essential against tanky compositions. Duskblade is good against squishy compositions and also if Lee is the enemy jungle to clear your area of all his garbage. And, of course, Ghostblade is a great item for him regardless of enemy composition given its MS buff active and passive.
Maw of Malmortius is great for fighting AP opponents, especially if the enemy has 2 or more AP champions, but only rush it if your lane opponent is AP.
Taking him top lane is a good idea IF you aren't first pick. He has his counters, but he also counters a number of champions. Teemo, a top lane favorite, is something he can burst down in mid to late game.
As for taking him mid. It can work as long as you play it safe early up to 6 so you can roam bot side and get your ADC 2+ kills.
I've personally stopped playing him as much as I used to because since the season started, it's become painfully obvious that the current meta does not support Wu very well. In this modern age of burst in which one feeder spells doom for your entire team, even getting aheadd as Wu provides little benefit for a team that just can't put your lead to good use.
