Lesnar & Ryback?

[bioshock]

Whats your thoughts on the likelihood of either Lesnar & Ryback forming a tag team lead by Heyman, or a match between Lesnar & Ryback. Do you think the WWE might have a feud in store for a Wrestlemania 30 match, maybe as a backup plan if Rock & Lesnar doesn't happen?

And if you think something may happen, how would you like it to play out?

My ideal match would be Lesnar & Ryback against the "Brothers of Destruction" Undertaker & Kane at Wrestlemania 30 in a Streak match. Wouldn't be pretty, but it would add that factor of an "unstoppable team" lead by Heyman (maybe play off the Punk loss from Wrestlemania 29) trying to end the Undertakers streak.

 

[R.K.O]

Ryback is nowhere near Lesnar, Taker and Kane's league. If he is still under Heyman by the time Wrestlemania 30 comes about I'd just have Heyman do double duty like he did at Wrestlemania 29 by managing both of them in different matches.

 

[UFOcalling]

It's obvious that Ryback is now a "Heyman Guy". As it's been said by others, this might be the WWE's last ditch effort to really get Ryback over. Yes, Ryback was over as a face towards the beginning of this run, but it seemed that the crowds were starting to get sick of him...hence, the "Bully" character he was playing up until saving Heyman from CM Punk. Ryback's bully character may continue, but I don't think we'll be seeing any more of Ryback bullying random indie guys backstage now that he's aligned with Heyman. Appearing with Heyman will get Ryback all the boos he needs.

You're right, bioshock; there will be some kind of confrontation between Ryback & Lesnar eventually. The story writes itself: Lesnar comes back, and is jealous of the relationship Heyman now has with this new "Big Man" (and might not feel needed anymore, or some BS like that). If (or when) Ryback vs. Lesnar does happen, I think that it would make the most sense to have Lesnar play the face role against a heel Ryback (who is still aligned with Heyman).

A tag-team might work better with Ryback & Axel for now, once Axel drops the Intercontinental Title (which might not be for a while). After Ryback & Axel are tagging for a while, it's a likely scenario that we'd see them take the titles off of The Shield (provided they still have the titles at that point). Then Lesnar could return, screw the team of Ryback & Axel, then we move to Punk & Lesnar tagging together to fight Ryback & Axel. I don't think that's the best idea booking-wise, but I could easily see WWE doing something like this to move the "Heyman Family" story along. The team of Ryback & Lesnar could also be a formidable foe for The Shield's tag titles, but Ryback & Axel just feels more "correct" to me. Knowing Paul Heyman's genius, he'll find the best possible angle for all four of his guys (Punk, Lesnar, Ryback & Axel) to move forward in this inevitable feud. No matter what crap the WWE throws at Heyman, he'll be able to find a way to make all four guys look like pure gold.

To put it bluntly, yes - I believe that Lesnar & Ryback will be involved in a storyline when Lesnar returns. If it eventually becomes Lesnar vs. Ryback, I think Lesnar would have to play the babyface in that feud (by turning on Heyman). I also agree with R.K.O.'s post, in that Ryback is nowhere near the "superstar" that Lesnar is. This hypothetical feud (Ryback vs. Lesnar) could be Ryback's chance to get to the next level, and it's another possibility that Heyman could be managing a heel WWE Champion (or WHC) in Ryback (eventually). I could easily see that happening at some point, but probably not before the Summer of 2014. Since Lesnar is a part-timer to begin with, it's a likely scenario that we'll see Ryback be the one to "shelf" Lesnar for at least a few months (if not for good). Lesnar seems like a team player, so I can see him agreeing to that as well. Ryback could then gloat about being the one that took Lesnar out, and so could Heyman. That could (and probably would) get Ryback over in most of the fans' minds, and then he could stay at the top of the mid-card (if not the bottom of the main event) for quite a while. Then again, it could fail miserably (if the WWE does it at all).

Involving The Undertaker & Kane is a cool idea, but I think they're going to be busy with The Wyatt Family upon their return (and hopefully helping the Wyatts look as strong as possible). I don't think The Brothers of Destruction will have time to get involved with Heyman's story(ies) as well as the Wyatts, and the Wyatts would have to be their priority. I foresee Kane's allegiance being torn in that story somehow, between Bray Wyatt & his brother (The Undertaker). Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania 30 wouldn't shock me. Lesnar vs. Ryback (with Heyman in Ryback's corner) at WM30 wouldn't shock me, either. Then again, who knows? Undertaker vs. Lesnar would be a HUGE money match, as would Lesnar vs. Rock. Stranger things have happened in wrestling, however...anything is possible.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Lesnar VS Ryback is far more realistic than Ryback & Lesnar. Brock only wrestles about three times a year, with sporadic appearances every now and then. The money with Lesnar is in singles showdowns, not tag team matches, or other group pairings. And you can't count on Lesnar coming back full time in the future, so WWE will do everything they can to get blockbuster singles matches out of Lesnar, while he's still around.

Maybe Lesnar VS Ryback happens at Summerslam 2014, but there's no way I can picture these two going at it for a Wrestlemania XXX match. Ryback is not at the level, where he can face Brock Lesnar yet, especially at Wrestlemania of all places. Lesnar VS Undertaker or Lesnar VS Punk II are potential must-see matches at Wrestlemania XXX, not Ryback VS Lesnar. Character wise, Ryback is still climbing out of a deep hole after a sub par heel turn that included Ryback constantly losing, when everyone with a half a brain knew he had no shot in hell at taking the title off of Cena, and Ryback of all people quitting in a match against The Miz.

But I could see WWE mirroring the blueprint for the Punk/Lesnar feud, with Heyman turning on Ryback in favor of the true Heyman Guy in Brock Lesnar. A match and feud with Lesnar could give Ryback a boost, and maybe he'll regain a lot of the momentum he lost before the feud with Punk started, and in the aftermath of a nonsensical heel turn.

 

[bioshock]

Brock only wrestles about three times a year, with sporadic appearances every now and then.

That's true. But don't forget way back when, the Mega Powers team worked out pretty good, and they only teamed up once in a great while, so them teaming up could be a 2 or 3 match thing.

Ryback is nowhere near Lesnar, Taker and Kane's league.

Your 100% right. But taking Axle as an example, he wasn't in HHH's Cena's or Punks league either, but he was put in matches & storylines with them to make him more credible and it worked. Undertaker has been used at Wrestlemania in the past to put guys over, same with Kane. But putting Ryback with Lesnar, and or Undertaker and Kane helps put him over and more credible.

Its why Ryback is entering a feud with Punk, its to help put him over even more, besides the help from Heyman.

Now in terms of Rybacks strength, power, look, ect.. he is in the same league as Lesnar, Undertaker, and Kane.

Ryback is not at the level, where he can face Brock Lesnar yet, especially at Wrestlemania of all places. Lesnar VS Undertaker or Lesnar VS Punk II are potential must-see matches at Wrestlemania XXX, no Ryback VS Lesnar.

You do know Undertaker vs Lesnar & Punk vs Lesnar are both rematches, the trend thats been going on with Wrestlemania's the past few years, I'm just not totally sure that trend keeps going on for Wrestlemania 30, as its been one of the gripes some have had, with having HBK vs Undertaker 1 & 2, HHH vs Lesnar 2, Undertaker vs HHH 1 & 2 ect..

But your wrong on one part, your saying Ryback isn't on the level of Lesnar or Undertaker at a Wrestlemania event, way back at Wrestlemania 18 neither was Albert or Nathan Jones, or Mark Henry at Wrestlemania 22, but those happened. And a few years ago it was HHH against Sheamus, and Sheamus sure wasn't in HHH's league for that Wrestlemania, when you consider years later its back to back HHH vs Undertaker, with Sheamus not even making the card. So its not a stretch to put future talent matched up with established talent, no matter if they are the status of Undertaker, Lesnar or HHH.

Not saying I want to see it with Ryback, but I am saying anything is possible. And things can change in 6 months. Who would of thought Eddie would of beat Lesnar to headline Wrestlemania 20 against Kurt Angle, anything can happen.

 

[#heel420]

I don't think this is leading to a tag team. I see a feud in the future over Lesnar being jealous that Heyman's all over Ryback lately. Lesnar is supposed to be Paul Heyman's beast, not Ryback. I can see it now Heyman doesn't want to pick sides thus manages both men ultimately leaving with the winner.

Ryback Vs Lesnar has been speculated to happen at WM XXX for a couple weeks now.

 

[MCMG]

I wouldn't mind this, for example, at a Survivor Series but not at Wrestlemania. It would be a complete waste of Lesnar to have him team with Ryback. Facing him in a singles match is different, I would be interested in that but one of them would have to turn face.

There isn't much time but at Survivor Series they could have something like Lesnar, Ryback, Axel and two others vs a team led by Punk. That would be the main situation where I would want to see them tag together. Other than that, especially at WM30, I really have no interested in these two teaming.

 

[R.K.O]

I wouldn't mind this, for example, at a Survivor Series but not at Wrestlemania. It would be a complete waste of Lesnar to have him team with Ryback. Facing him in a singles match is different, I would be interested in that but one of them would have to turn face.

There isn't much time but at Survivor Series they could have something like Lesnar, Ryback, Axel and two others vs a team led by Punk. That would be the main situation where I would want to see them tag together. Other than that, especially at WM30, I really have no interested in these two teaming.

Lesnar only has 3 matches a year in his contract, WWE already used 2 up at Extreme Rules and Summerslam. It's safe to say that WWE will obviously use his last match at Wrestlemania so there's no chance of Lesnar wrestling at Survivor Series.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

As others have posted it is unlikely we are going to see Brock in a tag match with his limited schedule. People were saying the same thing last year about having a Punk and Lesnar alliance.
I want to see Ryback vs Lesnar at Wrestlemania, I think it could be a draw if booked right. It might be a good oppurtunity to turn Ryback back face and bring back the "Feed Me More" chants. Maybe do a No Holds Barred "Battle of the Beasts" match with Heyman as the special referee.

 

[Cerebral Cyber Assassin]

I personally don't believe that Ryback & Brock Lesnar could be a long term tag team that actually competes for the titles simply because WWE's current tag team division isn't strong enough to actually oppose a team like that. But I could see a Ryback & Lesnar vs. Punk & Axel PPV match working, if Axel turns face. That match would be quite interesting and would provide Curtis Axel with a better oppurtunity to capitalize on being the son of, Mr. Perfect.

As for a Lesnar vs. Ryback match. Mehh. Only thing that would be interesting about that match would be the build up and Paul Heyman's decision of who's side he would be on for that match. Or possibly he could even be the special guest referee. But honestly, the last thing I want to see is a Lesnar vs. Goldberg remake.

 

[MCMG]

Lesnar only has 3 matches a year in his contract, WWE already used 2 up at Extreme Rules and Summerslam. It's safe to say that WWE will obviously use his last match at Wrestlemania so there's no chance of Lesnar wrestling at Survivor Series.

Never say "there is no chance". I'm not saying that I think he will but with Cena, Sheamus definitely out, Taker, Jericho, The Rock, Kane and RVD all likely to be missing then maybe they pay Lesnar whatever he wants for Survivor Series. I doubt he will be there but I wouldn't rule it out.

 

[Sin Jackal]

I don't think Lesnar will be in any tag team matches, much less one featuring Curtis Axel. Can safely rule that out imo.

Ryback vs Lesnar I would think could only happen if The Rock isn't coming back to face Brock as many have been hoping for. I wouldn't mind seeing it, but it is kind of disappointing that Ryback is still a heel. It's working for now, but Ryback will never truly get over unless he's a face. A lot of opportunity is wasted by him being a heel imo. That's another conversation though I guess.

Anyway, Lesnar returning would be a good time to flip Ryback back to face. I don't think Lesnar will be booked as a face since WWE wants to job him out and make their everydays look good for beating the "UFC guy". Him being face then losing would just send fans home unhappy.

Ryback is nowhere near Lesnar, Taker and Kane's league. If he is still under Heyman by the time Wrestlemania 30 comes about I'd just have Heyman do double duty like he did at Wrestlemania 29 by managing both of them in different matches.

Well yeah, those three have been built up and pushed much harder and better than Ryback has. Taker has one of the strongest bookings of all time, Kane has been around for over 15 years getting strong pushes here and there, and Lesnar had an incredibly strong push and is a former UFC heavyweight champ outside of WWE now. Ryback's entire "pushes" consists of a handful of weeks of jobbing to CM Punk, followed immediately by getting booked to be destroyed by The Shield for 5 months straight before a pointless heel turn in which they beat him down with The Sheild AGAIN to ruin his new fued and make sure everyone remembers how he's The Shield's personal jobber.

Ryback hasn't exactly had a great backing by WWE. All he's gotten were "emergency replacement" fueds when people got hurt, followed immediately by burials (two dozen Shield beatdowns then Cryback gimmick).

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I know that there are a good number of people who would like to see WWE utilize Lesnar more. There's nothing wrong with such hopes but what's ultimately keeping it from happening is Brock Lesnar himself.

Brock Lesnar has absolutely ZERO interest in doing anything even approaching even a part time schedule in WWE. If you look at Lesnar's deal, it's set up to have an appearance & function very similar to if he was still signed with UFC. Seven of Brock Lesnar's eight MMA fights took place in the UFC over a span of close to 4 years. It's not at all uncommon for boxers or MMA fighters to have only a single fight in a 12 month period of time, sometimes even longer than that if they're not a champion. Lesnar pops up on WWE television a handful of times every 4 or 5 months to promote a match & feud he has coming up similarly to what we saw in the UFC. He shows up for a while, does some interviews, hypes the match, has the match then disappears for 4 or 5 months until he has another one.

WWE obviously knew of Lesnar's disinterest in being a wrestler overall, but he was interested in returning. Brock Lesnar is a big draw whether it's MMA or wrestling. Some ridiculed UFC for signing Brock Lesnar due to his past as a pro wrestler and watched his bouts in the hopes of watching him get his ass kicked royally. They may have loved him or hated him, but every last damn one of them paid more money to see him win or lose than any other MMA fighter in history. As a result, WWE knew that Lesnar could be a special attraction used to pop a rating or help jack up buys for certain ppvs. That's how he's been used, quite successfully all in all, and that's really the only way WWE can use him because that's the extent of Lesnar's interest.

As a result, there'll be no tag team between Ryback & Lesnar. You can't have a tag team when one member of the team is MIA for most of the year. As far as a match between Lesnar & Ryback goes, it's a waste of Lesnar at this point. Brock Lesnar, as I alluded to, is a big money draw. You want big money draws in matches against big money draws. At this point in time, Ryback isn't a big money draw. Thus far, Lesnar's matches have been against guys like Cena, Triple H & CM Punk. They're all three big draws for WWE and Lesnar's rumored opponent for WM XXX is The Undertaker. Why? Because the streak has become big business for WM. To get the most money out of Lesnar's use for the biggest show of the year, WWE won't be pairing him with or against Ryback.

 

[IT Factor]

I totally agree with most of the sentiment already posted here. Ryback is the newest "Heyman guy" and Lesnar is the original. It may not happen right away, but it will happen I'm sure. Lesnar shakes hands with Ryback and then hits him with the F5.

 

[zee4u2nv]

Not even a contest! Ryback not in the same league as lesnar. Speed, strength, wrestling ability lesnar has it all. Ryback just has the look nothing more.

 

[JohnJohnson]

The only way I can see Ryback team with Lesnar is in a classic Survivor series match in which Lesnar, Ryback, Axel and maybe 2 other Heyman guys team up against Punk and friends. There really isn't much money in Lesnar tag teaming, especially with his current style of wrestling. Lesnar vs Ryback looks good on paper, but the thing is Lesnar is way stronger, faster and better. This would be an even worse rendition of WM 20. No one could buy Ryback with shell shock on Lesnar. I also think Lesnar would make Ryback look too small and week. Ryback looks a lot smaller when next to bigger guys. Cena has bigger arms than him even. Being in their with Lesnar could hurt his credibility. Lesnar. Rock, Lesnar/Taker, Lesnar/Cena, and even Lesnar/Sheamus would be ok. The only area in which Ryback equals Lesnar is shitty mic skills.

 

[Sundar]

I remember reading a few months ago about Ryback having a confrontation with Lesnar backstage where Lesnar knocked him onto the floor before security stepped in and pulled them away so it would be interesting to see how this goes.

 

[The Eighties]

As most have said the only way I can see a team situation happening is if Brock works a classic Survivor Series match as part of team Heyman vs team Punk. As far as them facing each other, I have zero interest, Brock has VERY limited dates and I wouldn't want one wasted on Ryback, plus both are much better as heels so I don't even see a dynamic there.