**MERGED** All Ryback Discussion (Keep all of it in here!!)

[The Living Receiver]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

In my not so humble opinion, NO. Ryback was pushed too far too fast and it will ultimately result in the character being unsuccessful in the long term.
A heel turn may be the only thing I can see that may help preserve him at this point. His shtick is already growing stale and his third straight PPV loss will render him largely ineffective to the casual fan.
I will admit my thoughts come from a place of bias, as I cannot stand the character and find him dull and insufferable, but I do believe this will be how things play out long term. The WWE could have gotten a lot more mileage out of the character, but they booked him all wrong.


2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

Bad, Bad, Bad! These three guys need to be protected.
They may not end up being anything in the long run but right now, the sky is the limit for these three and the worst thing that creative could do to hurt there chances of success is feed them to Ryback.
These three could have long term value, something Ryback absolutely does not have, case closed here, it's a bad idea.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

Mid-card city, maybe he'll take Khali's spot of being the giant who just shows up to beat down jinder mahal and Heath Slater on Smack down to fill time.
Wishful thinking aside though, I would say he will likely get into some sort of "Monster killer" series or something. Maybe a series of feuds with giants like Show, Kahli, Kane, Clay, etc.
I could see something interesting with him and a returning Mark Henry at 'Mania maybe, that could be interesting.
This time next year though, I suspect he will nowhere near the top of the card.

 

[HereComesThePain53]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?
No. WWE dropped the ball on him by making three NXT children ruin his stardom. I was enjoying Ryback and, despite him being in the shadows now, I am and always will be a huge fan of Ryback. Yeah he had a lot of momentum going into HIAC but, as usual, the dangling branch eventually fell. Sigh WWE...why replace Ryback with buffoons like Ambrose and his two side kicks.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

At this point I'd be really pissed off if he went over The Shield (which is, by the way, composed of buffoons...just putting it out there for all of you who are high as marijuana on Ambrose) because WWE already ruined Ryback's chances of being a mega star so they have nothing to lose - WWE BETTER make The Shield as palpable as possible. Personally, I hate the shield. But they were just so over hyped and they were bound to ruin Ryback's chances of becoming a star so now that have ruined everything, they might as well get pushed BIG.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

He'll be on Yoshi Tatsu's level.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

Depends. If he has good feuds and keeps people interested he maybe will. He is extremly pushed and from what I read he could be having his Wrestlemania moment with Big Show so who knows, maybe he will...

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

If he goes over, he will be going over 3 guys nobody really cares. They are promising but half of the audience doesn't watch NXT or yooutube clips to even know who these guys are. So, bad direction.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

They push him pretty hard so he has promising career ahead if he does good. Mentioned on some theme here, he is still green and he is not yet on Batista level of overness, but in time he could be good at that "Monster" gimmick everybody wants him to be. He needs to move from WWE title picture soon. Perhaps it would be good idea to go over Lesnar but I think that Lesnar wouldn't job to him. He needs to be build up properly, so they still need to build him. After he beats some rellevant guys(mentioned Show for Wrestlemania and it's a good start) he then could be pretty good over and pretty rellevant man to WWE. Like this, he is just some guy who beat various jobbers and moved to WWE champion where he lost 2(after TLC probably 3) times in a row...

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Killam you damn liar.

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

I think he can, but it won't be in the immediate future. I like Ryback, hell I love him. Yeah a lot of IWC guys love to make the Goldberg comparisons, but who cares? Nearly every gimmick in wrestling has been recycled a hundred times over. Watching him destroy guys, and being a little reckless is fun to watch for me. He got a popularity boost when he was thrust into the main event scene when Cena was iffy due to injury, but it is starting to decline right now. Give it time and it will pick back up.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

I'm not sure if it is good or bad, because my opinion of the three is torn between what little I have I actually sees of them versus what people on the boards say about them. Do I think they have potential? Absolutely, but everyone has to pay their dues, and just because internet fans get a hard on over a guy doesn't make them an exception. Michaels, Austin, Hart, The Rock, even Cena all paid dues. No one comes into the WWE a star these days, and as much potential as I believe they do have, casual fans the fans that make up a large portion of fanbases, aren't familiar with them. Just because they have to job early in their career doesn't mean it is ruining them. Cena single handily took out Nexus, yet all of those guys are still here and Barret is showing why he was the star of the group.

I think the best way to go is to have The Shield help Punk keep the title at TLC, but for the most part get their asses handed to them in the process. Then when Punk is busy with Rock at RR, make Ryback vs. The Shield a part of the actual rumble. Let him eliminate them, but then have them screw him out of winning.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?
Like I said earlier I think he will take a dip in momentum and popularity in the immediate future. Like it or not Cena will creep back into main event status, and Punk has established himself as a legit guy. Maybe he isn't a mega star but he is a competent star. Ryback will take a back seat to that for a while, but he will still be relevant. He has yet to lose clean, and they can keep that up for a while. He has lost, but until he loses clean he still keeps that aura he has, and they will milk that. He will keep getting some squash matches from time to time to keep in peoples heads how dominant he can be, he will get high profile matches, and if reports are true and he does take of Show at Mania, he could work a decent feud with him for a month or two, maybe even around the WHC.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

Questions 1 & 3 are intertwined for me, so I'll answer both here. The main thing that many people are forgetting, HGR included, is that Ryback was solely intended as filler until they could get rolling on the pre-Royal Rumble build. That's what matters, that's where the money is. Punk v. Rock is going to be a huge draw, plus the annual event on top of everything else is going to be massive. As everyone knows, WWE books itself generally better on the Road to Wrestlemania. So Ryback, in the grand scheme of things, is relatively inconsequential. He's not main eventing the Rumble, he'll be in the Elimination Chamber but wont be a winner there, he wont be main eventing WM. The only real purpose for writing Ryback is to keep him warm for the May-August months, for a Summerslam payoff of some sort (a non-title payoff, I might add).

Will Ryback regain his popularity? Not in 2013, but I'm not sure maintaining the earlier level of popularity was a realistic objective. Ryback will get lost in the shuffle after TLC and the popularity will be long gone. Still, he'll have more popularity post-TLC (especially with a strong Rumble performance) than he did before his mini-push. I think that was the intention all along, get him to be more popular than he was prior to his push. I think Ryback can become a popular character again, but that's down the road for me. He's 31 right now, so he still has a few years left in him. He's a big monster with easy catch phrases, so Creative will have no problem picking up right where they leave off with him.

Let's look closer at Question 2 and S.H.I.E.L.D. (btw, if Nick Fury comes out of nowhere to manage this team, I'll lose my shit). The whole point of S.H.I.E.L.D. is to get noticed. Cause havoc, become heels, make crowds crave them getting an asskicking. As much as Ambrose wants to deny it, this is the original Nexus with fewer members. I'll admit that S.H.I.E.L.D. having a tainted win at TLC is the right decision, as it increases their momentum and does the least amount of harm to Ryback (who will be fine). Having S.H.I.E.L.D. lose straight up would be a really crappy payoff to an angle that is pretty interesting. Basically, if S.H.I.E.L.D. wins at TLC, they'll have more going for them heading into Royal Rumble, which they can cut promo after promo talking about how this is their shot to main event WM, and they can start a new two month feud out of something that happens within the Rumble (something Ryback related, maybe with a face tag team like Car Sterio).

There are a lot of options for WWE and there's some great flexibility for them. Since its so early into the characters and storylines for the four men (five if you include Brad Maddox), I highly doubt Creative will screw this up. Still, I don't expect their immediate, short-term results to mean much - all will be forgotten by the WWE Universe heading towards the Road to WrestleMania.

 

[Fansince1992]

The Graph in the opening post doesn't seem accurate. It shows that Ryback's crowd reaction is dropping to nothingness. After watching the last episode of Raw, the crowd were going nuts when Ryback appeared during the Punk vs Kane Main-Event. The crowd was pretty quiet all night, and i definatly think that Ryback recieved the loudest pop of the night.

So far "The Shield" have not impressed me. Dean Ambrose looks like he could be a useful talker, but he was let down with that pathetic beat down he did on Ryback after the Punk/Kane match, go back and watch it again, it looked like a rabbit trying to beat up a Gorrilla. It's still a bit to early to tell if the trio will succeed, so will give them the benefit of the doubt after only a few TV Appearences. I think what might happen down the line is The Shield will probably align with Punk and Heyman. Brock Lesnar will return to form a great stable. Ryback, Cena, Sheamus and perhaps even The Rock or Triple H will join forces to stop them in thier tracks. This would be awesome for the future of The Shield.

Will Ryback succeed in 2013? I think so if he can stay clear of injuries.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

Yes, but only if WWE stops trying to Kozlov him: we all know he isn't winning the title, and at this point we are just debating how will he lose so Punk can face Rock. How the hell is that good for your indestructible powerhouse? Your graph to me was dead on, at one point I was tuning in just to watch a Ryback match...but its tapering off now. Ryback will regain his popularity when my idea is presented in your 3rd question.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

Terrible. I understand wanting to keep Punk the champ because it's adding much needed prestige back to that belt. Problem I have is sacrificing 3 young guys to one of your best up and coming new guys, while placing the up and coming star into a situation that is unwinnable (winning the belt from Punk). There was no way to predict how the WWE would debut these 3 guys, but if I knew this even 2 months ago I could tell you how shitty of an idea it is.

Punk can't lead a stable if his life depended on it and I guarantee the Shield will be fodder like Ted and Cody were in Legacy. Best thing I think WWE could do would begin on Raw: Have Shield 'injure' Ryback taking him out of the TLC pay per view. Give Punk a match against Orton or one of the Tag Champions for the time being. This would put over the Shield and protect Ryback until he makes his big return before the Royal Rumble. It's not perfect, but better than jobbing out Ryback and Shield.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

Pretty damned good. I have been saying for awhile now that Ryback will be the odds on favorite to win the Royal Rumble match and/or put on a dominant showing win or lose. At Wrestlemania, I can see Ryback winning the World Title from Big Show since he isn't going to be able to realistically win the WWE Title with Cena, Punk, Rock, and possibly even Lesnar in the title scene. Only problem that leaves is where Dolph Ziggler fits into all of this, because he still has the briefcase. I'm fearing a short run for him because Show VS Ryback would be more money than Ryback VS Ziggler. Long before the WZ 'news' article I predicted Ryback would have a big moment with Show in Shellshocked.

 

[Dagger Dias]

My interest hasn't quite dropped as much as yours has, but it did drop when Ryback got thrown into the WWE Championship picture so quickly. I prefer slower builds so that the wrestlers do not get lost in the shuffle as badly once the push ends. Ryback did nothing but squash people before facing Punk. He should have continued the squashing by working his way up the card through the divisions moving from jobbers to tag teams, to midcarders, to upper midcarders, to main eventers, to finally Punk. It's a little too late for that now though obviously. Regardless, my interest in Ryback is not quite at the level it was before Hell In a Cell. It's there though. I haven't lost interest entirely.

Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

Yes, I think he will at some point. They have managed to keep him relevant after losing his undefeated streak and failing to win the WWE Championship from CM Punk. The fact that Ryback still has been booked strongly after consecutive failures to win the WWE Championship on PPV is a good sign. He's still popular and as long as they book him properly he can only keep moving up. I predict that he will not only regain that level of popularity but he will get more popular than he was before Hell In a Cell.

Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

For a TLC match it would be a bad idea. Somewhere later down the line a Ryback VS The Shield handicap match is something I would like to see. Ryback needs the win, but so do The Shield. Unless there is some sort of complicated finish to where everyone leaves looking strong, I would be completely against it. The Shield will be taken more seriously if Ryback does not go over clean. When it comes down to it he needs the win far more than they do, but they definitely need it too. It's better for him to be facing Punk again with The Shield inevitably getting involved. I would not support a Ryback VS The Shield handicap match anytime soon. That would be a match that needs a lot of build and a complex finish so that everyone involved can benefit, and one that does not take place for a long time. Maybe at Elimination Chamber, it's not like Ryback would have to be in one of the Chamber matches.

What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

The odds are in his favor to have a great year. It depends on creative and how he gets booked. If they book him properly he could have an amazing year. If not, he might fade into obscurity soon after the push ends. I hope that he has a strong showing in the Rumble whether he wins it or not, as well as at Elimination Chamber. He needs a decent victory on PPV by or at Wrestlemania though. If not by then, he's in trouble and will risk losing a ton of momentum. I like Ryback so I hope that 2013 will be a great year for him.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think people are exaggerating Ryback's popularity by more than just a bit. Ryback's pretty over and popular right now but I don't see him being in any sort of danger of fading away just yet.

All in all, WWE is still testing the waters with Ryback. He's only recently started wrestling in matches where his opponent gets in any real degree of offense in. He's only just now starting to gain any sort of presence on the mic.

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

Frankly, I don't see any evidence that his popularity has decreased since Hell in a Cell. The graph is a joke as it certainly doesn't seem to measure Ryback's popularity by any legit degree. He gets a big pop when he comes out, he gets the fans behind him and he's keeping them behind him. All in all, there's not too much more that can be expected.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

I don't see Ryback going over The Shield at TLC. I fully expect CM Punk to retain the title due, in some degree, to interference from The Shield. Is it a good thing? In my opinion, yes it is, because CM Punk vs. The Rock for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble is a guaranteed big money match. Ryback vs. The Rock isn't. As I said, Ryback is someone that's only started to really get over with fans in the past couple of months. For the VAST majority of guys that come along, a few months isn't nearly enough time to measure a wrestler's staying power in terms of popularity. If CM Punk had beaten Ryback straight up in 2 matches already, then Ryback's credibility would be hurt. He decimated Punk at HIAC and lost only due to a crooked referee. He'd taken out both Punk & John Cena at Survivor Series, even having Cena laid out for the pin, but was taken out of the equation by The Shield's very first appearance. As I said, if Punk had beaten Ryback decisively these past couple of times, then I could see his credibility being hurt. He's had Punk beaten, he had John Cena beaten at Survivor Series and was screwed out of winning both times just as he probably will be at TLC. He's had both the top heel and top face in WWE at his mercy, so I don't see how anybody can say that Ryback's credibility is in danger at this point.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

It's hard to say exactly because so much of what's going to happen right at the start of 2013 is all done in preparation for WrestleMania. As I said earlier, there's no evidence of Ryback's long term popularity, so not putting the title on him now has been the correct choice. If Ryback's popularity continues to grow over the next month or so, he might wind up winning the Royal Rumble and challenge for the WWE Championship at WM 29. While it's probable that The Rock will beat Punk, it's not guaranteed. Far from it, based on reports I've read, if they're accurate. I see WWE, at the very least, continuing to push Ryback hard the next few months. If interest stays up, we might see Ryback walking out of WM 29 as the WWE Champion.

 

[yamesh2011]

I lied to you. This graph is neither shiny, nor was it expensive. In fact, it took me five minutes to whip this P.O.S. together for this thread. You're welcome.

Below is a handy graph I made up, displaying my general level of interest in the Ryback character as well as my predictions for its projections in the near future, as it relates to the crowd reaction from televised events. Observe:

As you can see, it took awhile for the WWE Universe to catch on to the Ryback character. The two-man jobs were impressive, but not altogether flashy or overly entertaining. They were just kind of...there. But by Hell in a Cell, WWE had put so much stock in Ryback, that everyone loved him! People were pumped to see what WWE was going to do with his character, and how they would keep CM Punk looking strong as the WWE Champion; it created a lot of much-needed buzz in the annual pro wrestilng down period.

The problem is, WWE then executed a really lame shady referee angle. And how did they follow that up? Three weeks later, he got eaten alive by Ryback, and hasn't been seen since. Basically, it showed that WWE has no long term plans for the main event success of Ryback. They were just using shock and awe for the sake of shock and awe. They never quite figured out how they were going to keep the belt off him, but still make him look dominant, while keeping the streak intact. You can't do it. It's impossible. Goldberg 101 says "don't put him up against the World Champion, you idiots".

Next up is Survivor Series. I was marginally still interested because Ryback was still dominant, and John Cena somehow made it all a bit more fun heading into the PPV. And then, WWE pulled another angle out of their ass. They debuted The Shield, and had them screw over Ryback. Don't get me wrong, I love the NXT3. Each and every one of them brings something long-term to the WWE product, and I am very excited to see how they are used going forward. But the BIG problem I have with their debut, is it once again handed Ryback another loss.

Next month we get TLC. Ryback isn't going to win the WWE Championship. Which means, no matter how they do it, Ryback is going to lose. Again. It is extremely likely - as many dirt sheets have been reporting - that the Shield will get destroyed by Ryback, while Punk uses the distraction to retain.

1) This Shield gets destroyed.
2) Ryback loses.
3) Punk goes on to face the Rock at the Royal Rumble

It's all for the good of Punk's title reign, obviously. But at what cost? They've basically bait-and-switched Ryback for the The Shield. But if Ryback beats the hell out of them, we just have two entities getting sacrificed for the good of a title run that's probably going to run out of steam in January. Or maybe Punk retains; that's not the point.

With three back-to-back-to-back PPV loses for the Ryback, can he ever maintain legit main event credibility? I said back at Hell in a Cell, I didn't mind Ryback losing, because his character was NEVER going to be as big as it was that night. And if it's all about "feeding" CM Punk in the end, then fine. But what's left in the aftermath? Is Ryback just another character? Because to me, he's too big to just fall back into the regular roster. He's too much of a dominating presence to get tossed into the midcard. And he's going to QUICKLY run out of main event talents to feud with.

So my questions are three:

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

Put it this way. Back in the 1990s when Lex Luger was arguably given the greatest push in WWE/WWF history, and he got A VERY MAJOR PUSH. Look where it got him. Nowhere. Could and maybe should have been WWF/WWF champion. Ryback aint in Luger's league. In fact Ryback is very bad. And a waste of time. Least Luger had 'character'. So why keep pushing someone who has nothing to offer. (RyBACK)

THOUGHTS PLEASE??

 

[The Dragon Saga]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

Probably. You seem to forget that he achieved that degree of popularity within, what? Eight months or less?! I think if we give him two or three years of solid television time and angles that he can rise to the top of the crop. His popularity has hardly dwindled, the pop he received at Survivor Series wasn't to the degree but was still pretty impressive compared to those of John Cena and CM Punk's, who've been WWE's top two guys for over a year now. Again, this is with a character that has been going all of eight months or so.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

If you ask Justin Labar probably not, because supposedly Dean Ambrose is the all high and mighty savior of professional wrestling, especially after saying an entire minute worth of lines during the interview with Michael Cole on Monday night. But in-reality The Shield will eventually have to get caught out. They debuted by going over one of WWE's top rising stars and have done so the past two weeks on Raw - hardly going to be buried by being beaten down by a guy with the character of Ryback.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

Very promising. He has developed a fan following, the "Feed Me More" chant will probably begin to tire but while its hot, may as well use it while its there. I see Ryback turning his attention to the World Heavyweight Championship and winning it either at Wrestlemania or post-Wrestlemania. The projected idea of him going over Show is a good one to me, seeing him lift someone the size of Show would be impressive as all hell, whether he can do it or not is the question.

 

[miller728]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

Only if Vince keeps shoving him down the fans throats

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

Bad Let the 3 guys with talent destroy Vinces little pet project

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?
Same place as Brodus Clay and Drew McIntyre

 

[BaconBits]

Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

That's way hard to predict. Unstoppable monsters often lose much of their momentum/popularity when they are finally stopped... but there are exceptions. It all depends on the wrestler in question. Ryback has some charisma and looks impressive. It really depends on who he feuds with after all this WWE title business. If he switches to a pursuit of the WHC and has to go through guys like ADR, Ziggler, Mark Henry, Sheamus, Orton and Big Show (in that order, actually) he could possibly be even bigger than he is now.

Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

It's fine if Ryback goes over three nobodies at this point. That might bunch a lot of your panties at this point, but it's the truth. If the guys in The Shield are as good as some of you say, they'll be fine and move on to their next target (which should be a heel, because that would truly make the group interesting, right now they are an extremely generic group of baddies and it is so very, very hackneyed) and nobody will remember that they got their asses handed to them by the time WM hits, except, of course for a bunch of jaded smarks on da innerwebz.

What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

It depends largely on how he's booked after TLC. If they have him continue a feud with three nobodies, it'll kill all of his momentum. If they consider that feud over and move him on to the WHC, he'll be fine.

 

[joduke41]

well i was never a big fan of Ryback anyway.he is a bit sloppy and eventually will get someone hurt.nothing about him appeals to me at all.but then again im not a big fan of the current wwe product.its kinda sad actually.there is so much potential there but no one has the slightest idea what they are doing.hell,on the ryback subject.have him face brock lesnar.but then again youd have to put in the ring with an actual wrestler to carry the match.

 

[GoatFace]

Sadly, at the end of the day, I don't want to say these chains of unfortunate events will lead to Rybacks demise, however, it's safe to say it will take him on a major setback for sure. Look at the WWE's recent history with moulding talent into main event stars and setting them back for some odd reason.

Wade Barrett - When he formed the Nexus, he was on a roll and it looked as if we 'had' a future world champion in our mist. He then began to show weakness in his matches with Randy Orton for the WWE title, and then soon became Cena's 'bitch' so to speak when the Nexus walked out on him until he re-hired Cena. This lead to the match at TLC, where Barrett was buried to make Cena look better, sent to Smackdown and formed a second rate, mid card, handy-down group known as The Corre. Ever since Wades comeback this year, he hardly gets the reaction he normally used to, and he has remained in the midcard [SETBACK]

Daniel Bryan - When Daniel Bryan won MITB, people started talking like they hadn't had in a while. Instantly, his win made a buzz. Although his path to the top of the Smackdown kingdom was quite rocky, with a huge loss record, Bryan won the title, and received a major positive reaction from it. Eventually, they turned Bryan heel and brought out his real personality, which was a great move on the WWE's behalf. Although his first title reign was horrendous, and the way he lost it was just poor booking to get a cheap, astonished reaction from the Wrestlemania crowd, resulted in him getting even MORE over with the crowd. At first, it looked as though the WWE were on board the Bryan express, and with his new shirt coming out, constantly main eventing PPV's, it looked as though we were right. However, with a large amount of losses, Bryan was made out to be weak, which slowly, but surely, pushed him back to mid-card level. Now, Bryan is in a tag team where he's basically portrayed as the bitch of the team, and hardly gets the crowd reaction like he used to [SETBACK]

The Miz - No one ever believed in The Miz until after Morrison and him broke up. I have to admit it, he even made me into a Mizfit. Winning various titles, Miz went over a a major heel. Once he won the WWE title, it looked as if they were finally doing something right. And yes, although his title run was boring, we were getting someone new in the market, something we fans always want to see. But, for some odd reason, after losing the title, Miz went down the food chain. Losing match after match, Miz became a joke.I swear the MITB has become a curse for some (hopefully not for Ziggler) [SETBACK] Although it looks as though the WWE look keen on The Miz once again, we can only hope he doesn't get setback

Just like Ryback is facing now, these men are still facing a setback, due to bad story-writing, or just being in a sticky situation (e.g keeping the title on Punk so he can face Rock at RR) Each wrestler I just named, including Ryback, made major buzz, but due to WWE's lack of creative genius, were able to keep the glue together and because of this, there careers were setback. This does not mean their careers are dead. I still have hope for the Rybacks, Barretts etc. You could say when they got their "push" they were there at the right place at the right time, however, you can also say the opposite. In the end, because the creative team dropped the ball, there buzz were ruined, and the WWE Universe became uninterested. I hope this doesn't happen to Ryback, but it looks as if he is heading in the that direction.

 

[Alastor]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?

A lot of people are saying Ryback is Goldberg 2.0 and to an extent that is true. But I see some of Batista in the Ryback character too. The muscle head mid card that can wreck havoc with main event stars. All he need is that HHH main event guy to push him over the top and get red hot again. I would not give up on him just yet as it wasn't even his time when he was called up to fill in for Cena.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?

I would say in between. This feud is between 2 sides that will be totally foreign to returning Wrestlemania viewers during Wrestlemaina season. The feud would need to include a more established name on Ryback's side to keep viewer attention. A returning Christian maybe?

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?

He will probably be involved in the mid card title chase after the Shield. After that I see a shift in his character to be less intense to fill the comedic needs of the show after Bryan and Kane's turn at that ends. More food puns on his feed me more chants.

 

[Just Do It]

People do love to moan don't they. It's so early in the characters development and people are already writing him off. If the Net was readily available to everybody in the 96, I wonder if people would have made little graphs showing a lack of interest in Rocky, Austin, and HHH - three folks who didn't catch on with the audience straight away either.

I mean, Jesus. Just relax.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

The reaction Ryback receives has grown, no matter what your chart says. Just watch the show.

The crowd has dropped the Goldberg chants which is definitely a positive sign.

Is he the next Goldberg? No, the crowd doesn't care that much, and that's partially Ryback's fault. He doesn't possess half the intensity (or charisma) Goldberg did. In 2012, it's tough for a big, muscular guy to get over with the vocal minority. I'm surprised smarks aren't straight booing him by now. I don't think he's as over as Vince wants him to be, but he most certainly is not in decline when it comes to crowd interest.

My interest level has dropped. So has yours. That doesn't mean the fans are following suit. They're not. Watch the show.

 

[theBec2101]

1) Will Ryback EVER again reach the height of popularity he had attained going in to Hell in a Cell?
No. He can’t pick up Haymen, how many more botches does he get because Ken Anderson didn’t get this many.

2) Is going over The Shield at TLC a good, or a bad direction for the WWE product?
Yes. You going to have him go over 3 up and coming stars that are pretty good and this guy can’t even pick up Haymen. Makes no sense.

3) What does Ryback's career look like going into 2013?
He'll have a good one as long as be doesn’t have to pick no one up heavier than the average diva. Also as long as he doesn’t talk to long.

Honestly I dont care.

 

[XXJJ]

If Ryback is good enough than he will regain his momentum that he had before HIAC. Plenty of top stars have overcame bad booking decisions by creative.

Unless they want to make Ryback look like a complete douchebag, he needs to beat the shit out of the Shield and get his revenge. Right now majority of fans dont give a shit about the Shield. People need to stop thinking they are the new NWO.

Ryback is responsible for the solid HIAC buyrate. Even though he lost some momentum after HIAC. The fans are still into him. Give him Mark Henry or Big Show at WM in a battle of the big men. Continue building him as dominant force. Let him win the wwe title after WM.

I dont think he will ever be the guy. But he should be a solid draw for them and probably be top 5 in the company.

 

[The Gribbler]

I just think Ryback needs to squash the shit out of some established talent. I know it might hurt those people to lose to him (then maybe not, almost everyone in WCW jobbed to goldberg), but the only way we can see him as a credible threat again is to show that he can dominate everyone on the roster.

The current plan of having him Shell Shock the Big Show at Wrestlemania might actually work.

I dunno, Tough call.

Just My Opinion

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If the response from Greensboro is any indicator, I don't think Ryback's popularity is in any danger of sinking. During the various attacks of The Shield, there were pretty vocal "Feed Me More" chants and the crowd popped big for him after he came out to help Team Hell No rally against The Shield. They popped even more when Ryback decimated Punk & left him laying in the middle of the ring after putting him through a table.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

On Raw last night, Vickie Guerrero was sort of coached by Vince McMahon into presenting Punk & Heyman with some potential ramifications if CM Punk failed the lie detector test on Raw. Vickie announced that if Punk failed, then Paul Heyman would be placed in a match next week on Raw against Ryback. Before CM Punk could answer The Miz's question in regard to his involvement with Brad Maddox &The Shield, the latter jumped into the ring and disrupted things.

Even though the attack came about before Punk answered, I have a feeling that Vince or Vickie will determine that The Shield showing up is all the evidence needed. As a result, I think the match between Heyman & Ryback will be booked for Raw next week.

Of course it's not going to be an actual match but I think it could be used as a means of firmly establishing, if WWE goes in this direction, that The Shield are "Paul Heyman guys". If the match happens, I have no doubt they'll come out to save Heyman. I think it'd be something of a nice little twist if it's revealed that The Shield is working for Paul Heyman and Punk is legitimately not involved. The story could be that Heyman hired them to watch out for CM Punk's interests without Punk being in on it.

In some of their segments, Punk is someone that's seemed to sometimes let his emotions get the best of him and put him into situations that have no advantage for him. For instance, Heyman tried to talk Punk out of fighting Vince on Raw a while back. So perhaps it could be revealed that Heyman is using The Shield as just that: a shield to protect CM Punk from others and, in some ways, from himself.

 

[midgensa]

Seriously ... JH ... that is some deep shit right there.

That would be fantastic and makes all the sense in the world. I don't know why I had not even thought of it. It seems only logical that Paul Heyman has been behind The SHIELD the entire time and that Punk does not know a thing about it.

It is actually now the ONLY THING that would make any sense to me. Have their vested interest be in protecting the WWE Champion and while they are at it Heyman gives them leeway to attack whom they please and cause as much chaos as possible so that nothing falls back right on him.

Sounds like the only logical reason for these guys to be so pro-Punk. It also would make sense for Heyman to be behind the referee fella as well. Heyman is just protecting his investment ... even if his investment is completely oblivious.

 

[three count bout]

I like the idea of the Shield Being with Heyman and Punk legitimately not knowing about it but the one issue that kinda stands out is why did the shield interrupt the lie detector test? Punk should have passed the test seeing as he would have had no knowledge of the Heyman-shield affiliation and guarantee Heyman wouldn't fight Ryback in the process. By interrupting the lie detector test they have continued the speculation that Punk is in on the whole thing.