Ryback Returns, But Is It Too Late?

[The Brain]

Tonight we saw Ryback return to the ring. The crowd was behind him and he beating Bo Dallas in dominating fashion. It was like 2012 all over again. At the end of 2012 it seemed like Ryback was on his way to big things. He was over with the crowd and was getting PPV title shots against CM Punk. After failing to capture the title Ryback's star fell as quickly as it had risen. The mystique started to disappear and a disappointing loss to Mark Henry at WrestleMania 29 didn't do the big guy any favors. Shortly after mania Ryback turned heel and got some title matches against John Cena. He wasn't a bad challenger but the fans clearly weren't believing in him like they had just a few months earlier. After the feud with Cena it was back to feuding with Punk in what I thought was a pretty boring angle. It seemed the writing was on the wall for Ryback when he was paired with Curtis Axel in a team that went nowhere fast.

Earlier this year Ryback suffered an injury and had to take some time off. It could have been the best thing that ever happened to him. As mentioned he got a nice ovation from the crowd and looked better than he had in a long time. Do you think Ryback can return to his 2012 form or has the past year and a half destroyed Ryback's potential to be a main player?

I don't know if he'll ever be what we hoped for two years ago but he's got to be better than he was in the second half of 2013 and first half of 2014. The timing might be just right for him. John Cena is looking for some partners against the Authority at Survivor Series and this could be the perfect way to make Ryback relevant again. What do you think?

 

[Starkiller]

What got cena over was when he first started to feud with cena, and was doing the "feed me more" stuff which was over with the crowd, and the crowd popped every time he assaulted cena. Then wwe decided to make him heel, he stopped the feed me more gimmick and that's fans didn't really get behind his whole heel turn. He didn't really go anywhere and then eventually dropped down the card.


It's almost as if wwe had to protect Cena by making ryback heel in that feud Cuz we can't be having a face that is more over with the fans feuding with cena it would make Cena look bad after all. But that's another topic.


Ryback tonight came out with his feed me more gimmicm right out of the gate, I think the fans just like getting involved in the feed me more chants and it was a throwback ryback squash match. But I didn't feel the crowd really pop like they did when he was staring down Cena. This will be interesting, I'm not really a ryback fan as to me he is a poor man's Goldberg rip off, but I would enjoy a face ryback against Cena again that was fun.

 

[L@RISANO]

The main thing is that the chant is over, and thus, the majority of crowds will cheer him big time.
I have a feeling he might be the next guy for Rusev(tho I'm still hoping for Sheamus) to face, tho I just can't quite picture the patriotic side of the Ryback at all. If such a programme happens, it'll just be a programme to get Rusev even more heat given the overness of the Ryback chants, I feel.


If not,then I do wonder how much of a push they will give him between now and the Rumble in any case. I honestly can't see him getting close to the Main Event at all. Maybe, he might well end up on Cena's Team for Survivor Series perhaps.

 

[Mudlup50]

I don't think his career is over by a long shot, he could be a main eventer again pretty much for the same reason most of us wouldn't blink an eye if Big Show jumped up or Henry did. He's just a big intimidating guy. He squashed Bo on Raw...I guess Bo is doing that now but whatever. He might squash Adam Rose next week. But they booked him as a face, so they must have known there was a problem with RybAxel. Add to that their lack of tag teams right now and it becomes more obvious.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see a team of RyBigShow. Henry turned on Show and now they're low on face teams. Just a thought.

I also don't think Ryback is over. It seems the fans love the chant and not him. And goodness I can see why, I do it at home all the time...it's just contagious >.< if he keeps the chant and shows up on Team Cena at Survivor Series he could be brought back up to main event level, especially if he's the first person to beat Rusev. Again there are possibilities for him either way, hopefully his career rebounds from that crappy Rybaxel time

 

[MC_Live]

I don't think it's just the chant. Yeah, Feed Me More is pretty over.. But outside of that, I think there's a little more of a connection. I really wish we could just restart his winning streak, and completely erase the last two years of Ryback. That way he could have a shot. And maybe he does. If they don't mess it up like last time, and take care of his character, Ryback has a shot. Who knows, maybe he's a future world champion? I say for now, just do what should have been done then. Keep him dominant for a while, and build to a big challenge. And then, bulldoze that challenge. Just think about an unstoppable Ryback vs. Brock Lesnar. It's possible. My one hang up is does Ryback have the skill to be a big player? Because if he can't have not just good, but great 20 minute matches in the long run, it will effect his popularity. But that's a bridge we'll need to cross when we get there.

 

[TheICChampion]

I really don't see Ryback making it to WWE Champion. Main events here and there, sure. IC title, why not? I also would love to see him take on Rusev, Sheamus or Lesnar.

 

[Alastor]

I don't think Ryback is as over as we think he is but the chant is definitely over. Then again the last person with the most over chant didn't fare too badly either. I think it isn't too late for him to be relevant again. There is a spot opening for him in the mould of Henry/Kane/Big Show as the big guy that bounce around the card if he is willing to accept that role. One step below big belt holder and lower tier title holder that can be promoted to main event should the need arises.

The thing is after WWE released so many wrestlers recently, there is a lack of jobbers to build Ryback up again. And he seem more like a jobber than anything at the moment. At the moment I think he is in the tier of Bo Dallas, Los Matadores, SlaterGator and needs time to go back up the card. Russev, Ziggler, Sheamus, Miz/Mizdow all seem to be the ones getting the push ahead of him. Ryback at least needs a US/IC title win to pad up his singles career resume.

 

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

Rybacks back, just in time to join Team Cena for Survivor series. Cena noticed Ryback had a pop from the crowd so now wants to suck out all his popularity again.

 

[wrestler36]

yes, Ryback can build his way back to the top. Anybody can be relevant if pushed right. Hell, Ziggler had just a bad a year as Ryback did and even now he seems to be batting .500 but fans still go crazy for him. Have him maul over some guys, and then feud with Kane and Mark Henry and he's back in the game

 

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

Ryback is the best option to beat Rusev and cement himself as a good face.

 

[Gavschenko]

it looks like he's back i've no idea at all why they made him a heel in the first place he was so over when he was a babyface the first time. All to do now is keep him away from cena this time

 

[Mustang Sally]

Whatever one thinks of the "fake" spectacle of pro wrestling, it apparently does take time to learn the trade and if a performer is advanced too quickly, the whole thing might come crashing down.

Yes, Ryan Reeves was a wrestler before his turn as Ryback, yet, he hadn't worked long enough at the Ryback character to get it down pat. One minute, he's crushing two skinny nobodies in the ring at the same time, then he advances to a mini-feud against Jinder Mahal.......and then, all of a sudden, he's in the main freakin' event against guys like John Cena and CM Punk.

You can't wrestle those guys the same as the tomato cans and Jinder.....and it showed. Ryback had nowhere to go.....plus, they turned him heel just as he might have been starting to learn how to be a face at the higher level .....and before you know it, he's on a treadmill, going nowhere.

Okay, so they're trying it again, and doing it correctly by letting him go back to the beginning. This time, let him advance properly, rather than forcing him to the top because a main event contender was needed at the last minute. I don't know if it will happen for Reeves, but he's at least being pointed in the right direction.

 

[DCLXVI]

Dammit, I've been waiting for this and it was part of RAW I missed last night. The shorter Hulu version seems to have cut out that match as they usually cut out several wrestling matches and leave in the crappy stuff like 20 minute Bella promos.

Anybody know where I can watch a clip of it without downloading the whole episode?

EDIT: Yes - please, please, keep the man away from Cena. He had an interview on RAW fallout and basically said he wasn't ready and didn't like the person he became and wasn't his full potential and wasn't going to screw this up and was going to become the hero of the WWE. To me that kind of alludes towards Rusev/super Face.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's the same thing that saw Thwagger get cheered out the building when he returned agaist Rusev and will see Barrett be a face when he returns.

The fans do genuinely like a lot of the guys WWE want us not to, all 3 have catchy catchprase/intro parts they can get involved with... when they're heel it's harder to do cos WWE is not going for that reaction, but when they return after an injury or period away then it's like a reboot...and the fans can decide themselves.

Whenever Barrett comes back, whoever he delivers "Bad News" to the crowd will go nuts, so WWE will be smart and make it a heel... just as they were smart this week and put Ryback out there against Bo...

It doesn't mean he's going to be face going forward if WWE don't want that, but it gets the "return pop" out the way, they can see over a couple of weeks if the reactions hold... if they don't then he's back teaming with Axel before you know it... if they do, then he might get more of a push into Rusev's path...

 

[MCMG]

There is still a chance for him. He can be a popular babyface. The chants will help that as will his aggressive moveset. People will react to big slams and the like.

In the long run the same problems remain, his mic skills and losing. How does a monster lose a match? Especially when he struggles with promos. He seems to have some personality as was shown with the "Big Guy" persona so I do think there is potential. He could easily hold a mid-card title and be a fun addition to Raw and Smackdown.

 

[DCLXVI]

Yeah he is naturally charismatic as "the big guy" and very smart in "real life interviews" but I see them making him a squeaky clean terminator style guy which seems to be how the crowd digs him... hopefully he has enough range to carry some good feuds. WWE has spent a lot of years developing Ryan Reeves and working with him through bad injuries... Hopefully they don't screw this up.

and keep the man off Twitter for a while... the tweets are the stuff of legends but not this time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

If anybody still holds out hope that Cesrao can recover, then you should with Ryback. They made their debut around the same time and Ryback was once a legitimate headline challenger, Cesaro never has been.

It was only a little over a year ago when everything went sour for Ryback. This time last year he was still an upper-mid card player. It'll be easy for him to recover if WWE allow it.

 

[Bagpipes]

I don't think Ryback is a good enough worker to put together consistently must-see main event matches with Orton/Ambrose/Rollins/Cena. Then again, Reigns really isn't that great of a worker at this point in his career so we'll see if either of them improve their work rate to that point...

I do like the idea of a Rusev v. Ryback feud. Whoever eventual beats Rusev is going to be instantly over, it's just a matter of if WWE creative choose, or even attempt, to capitalize on it. Another wait and see...

 

[OYDK]

It's not too late. Ryback has improved leaps and bounds since his first great face run and it seems the fans have wanted to cheer him for a while now. Ryback now has much more of a personality than he ever did before, and I think the cheers and chants are only going to get louder. IF booked right from here on out, Ryback could still be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[theblasterkid]

Ryback > Reigns. He has way more charisma than that dude.

 

[DCLXVI]

I just watched his return (was edited out of Hulu) and this guy is amped possibly more than before. He is one of the most intense wrestlers since Ultimate Warrior and is a little sloppy, does the press lifts, has an awesome moveset, but he has that factor of the uncontrollable intensity in an age where everything sounds scripted and controlled very closely.

Ryback mark here. Sorry.

 

[kadroan]

I didn't see his return coming this soon. It's great to see he's back as a face. I'm hoping they realize he's better off in the mid card instead of being forced in the main event.

I'd love to see him, Sheamus, Swagger, Show, Henry and Rusev fight over the US title for the rest of the year and 2015.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

It's not too late for Ryback at all. This is exactly what I wanted to see and it was awesome. Ryback is back to his former self again and it's a second chance for him to properly climb the ladder. Hopefully they build him up slowly this time and not waste effort by immediately catapulting him into the Main Event scene only to succumb to some top star. THAT would be the end. Now there's a chance for him to become Intercontinental Champion or United States Champion somewhere down the line. Either title should be won by Ryback and defended like a real competitor. It would be awesome if he had a proper title reign by beating everyone that came at him for the title. I'd love to see a Ryback vs Sheamus feud or even a Ryback vs Rusev feud. There's a lot of potential to make him a good Mid-Card Champion. I hope WWE doesn't ruin it.

 

[Edward_Shilling]

I'm glad he's back...he was way over before the heal turn, and I think he still can be a toop draw...IF they let him.