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

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

They have to be really careful with how they build Ryback in the next few months. I do think the idea of putting him (as a face, assuming that's what he is now?) up against the currently heel Big Show is great, and even necessary. But right now, it's much too soon.

Beating up Jinder Mahal has to be considered a stop up (albeit a small one) from local jobbers. Jack Swagger is another step, although Ryback did defeat Mahal once again on this week's Smackdown. He may well go on to mini-feud with both of them over the next weeks; regardless you have to look at who's next. THey can't go back to locals, and at this point they're going to need to start developing small stories because only more legitimate challenges lie ahead.

The next logical step in my opinion are Hunico and Camacho. Two guys at the same level as Jinder Mahal; the only difference is just that, TWO GUYS. It's a chance for Ryback to show off his multi-tasking skills yet again, this time with opponents we might actually want to see him defeat. Leave Epico & Primo alone, the tag division doesn't need any more de-legitimization right now. I wouldn't mind seeing a short feud with Drew McIntyre, for both of their sake.

I think Survivor Series might be the time you give Ryback his first shot at a US or IC Championship. Book him against The Miz or Antonio Cesaro with the belt on the line at one of the WWE's biggest events of the year. That'd be a perfect way to gauge if his character is truly coming along. Of course he can't go over either of those two right now, nor can he lose a match. So you simply have the next guy to actually feud with him force the disqualification in Ryback's favor. Tensei or Ezekiel Jackson seem like logical choices to me.

Draw that out for a month or two, having Ryback go over no matter what the heels try to throw at him. Classic booking; backwards from what the WWE is used to these days. He doesn't need a belt, and giving him one might actually be a mistake. His character can be predictable, and still be highly entertaining; title matches, not so much. Plus, you have to worry about somebody needing to beat him at some point, and the real potential for over-exposure.

Big Show is a great choice for a feud though. But it needs to happen towards the very end of Ryback's push to the main event. If anything, that could be what finally triggers the shift. Ryback has beaten the entire lower and mid card, hell...he's beaten two guys at the same time. Maybe three at one point or anything, who knows? But can he defeat the 500 pound, 7-foot giant? Imagine if Ryback could get Big Show up for his finisher! That would be a great moment, and I think by that point the fans would be completely behind him. So yes to your question, but I'm thinking WrestleMania or this time next year, at the earliest.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

This would be the Perfect feud for Ryback to pick up his first loss. I would have Ryback beat Show a couple of times before he finally loses it and attacks Ryback backstage. After this a hurt Ryback would come out to the ring and challenge The Big Show to a match. Show would accept the challenge and after hitting a hurt Ryback with Two WMD'S, Bigshow would get the pin and the victory over Ryback and would lead to a great rematch in my opinion.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Ryback could barely lift Swagger.
How is he going to lift Show? He's booked as a monster... but he's actually short and stocky... and looks terrible against bigger competition.
There's also nothing explosive about him like there was with Rhyno or Goldberg. Their spears/gores are what got them over because they exploded through people and looked DEVASTATING.

 

[CM Steel]

So after this weeks RAW it looks like Bill Goldberg clone Ryback is next in line to face the Miz for the WWE IC championship. But what if Ryback defeated the Miz for the IC strap does he go on to win a WWE world title while holding the IC title? Because like Goldberg in WCW during his mega push, Ryback is undefeated. Therefore does he stay undefeated going towards a world championship in the E?

Goldberg held the WCW U.S. title at the same time that he won the WCW title from Hollywood Hulk Hogan in Atlanta, GA. So could Ryback be going down the same road as Ryback championship wise? The WWE hasn't had a duel champion in a long while now. And it looks if Ryback can be that next superstar to do such a thing.

Like back in the day when the Ultimate Warrior won the WWF championship from Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 6 in Toronto, ON as the WWF IC champion. I mean when was the last time have we've seen something like that?

So could Ryback be the NEXT one??

 

[Nate DaMac]

I guess it's a possibility, but I think the gap of time between winning the IC Title and winning the WWE Title would be lot longer than any of the others you've mentioned so it's highly unlikely that he'd still be IC Champ that long. I have very little doubt that Ryback will be World Champion one day, but he's nowhere near ready for it yet.

 

[xXxTheDevilGodxXx]

He needs one hell of a push if he's going to be the WWE champion from where he is now. He would have to pull a Sheamus probably. As for being a double champion- especially to be holding both the IC and WWE titles, is a huge stretch. I'm sure that Ryback will be a World Champion sooner or later, but I really don't see him being IC Champion, or even U.S. Champion, at that time. He'll have lost at least one match by then I think.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I hope his upcoming fued with Miz is long and not just Ryback winning the title at HIAC.

If it were up to me, I would have different spots like what we saw on Raw last night between the two, coupled with Miz interfering in some Ryback matches. I would avoide having them fight for the title at HIAC and hold that match off till Survivor Series, or have teach guy captain their own team against each other. Then If it were a one on one match I would have Ryback win by DQ or if a Survivor Series match have Ryback's team win. Then at the December ppv, I would have a tag match that involves Ryback and Miz. Ultimatly, I would have it end at the Rumble with Ryback winning the title. This also keeps him out of the Rumble match itself so they don't have to worry about what to do with Ryback in that match.

 

[Soulblazed]

Nah..It's too soon for Ryback to be a dual champion, much less a champion only holding one belt...Give him time..No use to throw him the IC/US Titles just because he's Ryback..Sometime next year after he learns to wrestle long matches/sell, etc, THEN give him a shot..But now is way too soon for Ryback to win any titles

 

[George Steele's Barber]

*dual, not duel

No, I am not even sure if Ryback will take the IC Title off the Miz let alone get a world title simultaneously. He has a nice streak going but it hasn't exactly been against top talent. His biggest problem are the stupid fans and their Goldberg chants. It makes it seem like the fans are being disengenuous. If I were WWE I would really question whether it was worth supporting a guy that others take as a clone.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

*dual, not duel

No, I am not even sure if Ryback will take the IC Title off the Miz let alone get a world title simultaneously. He has a nice streak going but it hasn't exactly been against top talent. His biggest problem are the stupid fans and their Goldberg chants. It makes it seem like the fans are being disengenuous. If I were WWE I would really question whether it was worth supporting a guy that others take as a clone.

Yeah but you're also talking about the same guys who boo every face, cheer every heel because those are apparently the only interesting guys in wrestling, and, if they're a member on a wrestling forum, have that classic Fave 5 of 4 heels and 1 internet darling, who's also likely a heel too. You're not going to change those morons. They're stuck in a reality where they can't see that without faces, their precious heels are meaningless. Plus, when those guys (because let's face it, it's entirely a male crowd doing those chants) aren't chanting "Goldberg," he gets a lot of "feed me more" chants from everyone else.

Plus, how many wrestlers nowadays aren't far off from a clone of someone? Miz is practically Jericho. Swagger is Angle. Ziggler is almost Flair minus the mic skills.

Frankly, I think what would help Ryback is a loss. HIAC is a great way to do it too, because who's going to look weak getting pinned after being beaten with a chair, or a pipe or whatever weapon at the end of a long match in a cell? They could go another route and have him lose by countout in a normal match, but a match with weapons is such an easy opportunity to get a clean loss and it not hurt the loser. Have Miz beat him at HIAC. Maybe win by DQ in their next match, and by match 3 Ryback takes the title. I don't see him becoming a dual champion anytime in the future, but a midcard title is not a bad thing for him if booked properly. There in lies the hard part for WWE.

 

[rokuma]

I like the idea of him being a dual champion....just not the IC/World titles...

Wouldn't it be nice if Ryback unified the IC and US titles after a lengthy feud with Miz and one with Cesaro? One midcard title is enough...if WWE is desperate, bring back the European Title or the TV Title for the lower midcard. This would also give Ryback credibility (a minor version of Jericho's "First unified WWE champion" moniker that gave him credibility) and makes him an uppercard player.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm glad to see that they're finally going to put Ryback in what looks to be his first real feud. That being said, I just hope that they don't book Miz to come out looking like a total chump.

I like Miz, the guy works hard and I think he's entertaining. He's someone that's got too much talent all in all to just simply be fed to Ryback just for the purpose of slapping a title onto him.

I know Vince likes Ryback but, in my eyes, he's not ready to be a champion. As I alluded to, Miz is someone that'll be his first real test and just having Ryback come off as this unstoppable, invulnerable human juggernaut isn't going to do him any favors in the long run. That aspect of his character is already getting tiresome so just having him decimate Miz won't progress Ryback any further and will only serve to weaken Miz.

As for being a dual champion, I don't see it. Ryback is someone that I do think has a lot of potential. He has a great look and he's athletic for a man of his size and build. He has a lot of intensity and based on what I've seen & heard in the past, he can be pretty decent on the mic. I don't look for him as a guy that's going to be the next "face" of WWE and the next "face" of the company I think will be the guy to hold a main event and mid-card title simultaneously.

 

[BigLuther]

Well if this feud is going to happen, Ryback ABSOLUTELY has to win the belt or else all his build has been for nothing. If his first loss is to The Miz in a title match, Ryback will be ruined and he becomes just another guy. Ryback with the IC belt brings us back to the old school days where the IC champion was seemingly next in line for a World title opportunity. If Ryback comes out and has a 6-12 month IC title reign, he should get a World or WWE title shot while still holding the IC belt. If he were to win it, I'd like to see him just drop the IC belt and have them hold a tournament for a new champion while Ryback is on top.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Ryback could definitely be the next WWE Dual Champion. I do not think he should hold the Unified WWE World Tag Team Titles by himself. That would be horrible for Tag Team Wrestling. I also do not think he should hold the WWE or World Titles just yet as well. He’s not ready.

The thing is, in history, whenever there is a dual Champion with one of the Titles being a World Title, the Champion tends to drop the lower Title. Ultimate Warrior dropped the Intercontinental Title after winning the WWE Title. Goldberg dropped the United States Title after winning the WCW Title. Triple H dropped and retired the Intercontinental Title after unifying it with his World Title.

In order for this to be as effective as possible, showing Ryback’s “pure dominance”, I believe he should win the Intercontinental Title from the Miz as soon as possible. Then maybe in about 6 months, win the United States Title, instead of the WWE Title or World Title. One could assume he would retire the United States Title, but if the WWE were smart, they would let him run with both, defending one at a time, or even, on some occasions, defend both together, or even defend them both against two competitors simultaneously. For example, Ryback vs. John Cena for the United – Continental Titles, or Ryback vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Title and Antonio Cesaro for the United States Title. They can get really creative here…if they want to.

 

[xavyer]

I see that people are compairing Ryback's undefeated streak with Goldberg's, i was not a big WCW fan, but Goldberg had credible oponents, and his matches were entertaining, and also he also had talent, but Ryback? Seriously? He's undefeated, but look at 95% of his matches, all against really skinny jobbers that have absolutly no talent at all, his more or less relevant matches were against Jinder Mahal, Heath Slater and Curt Hawkins, other than that, what exactly has he proove? That he can march in the ring? i'm sorry, but unless he can pull a miracle, i don't see Ryback going pass mid card.......

 

[UFOcalling]

In my opinion, Ryback could easily remain undefeated in the WWE for a long stretch (just like Goldberg did in WCW). With Ryback's budding attempt to win Miz's Intercontinental Title, it looks like Ryback could be the IC Champ within a matter of weeks. I could see him entering the WHC or WWE Title hunt in the future as well, but probably not until 2013.

It would make sense that the WWE will continue Ryback's undefeated streak for at least the remainder of 2012, especially if they decide to put the IC Strap on him (which they probably will, by their HiaC PPV next month). If Ryback stays undefeated for that long, it would only make sense to have him eventually enter the main event scene. After all, someone who proves they can last that long without losing a match (kayfabe) would "deserve" a shot at the WHC or WWE Title somewhere down the line (just like Goldberg did back in 1998).

I wrote a detailed comparison of Ryback/Goldberg in the other Ryback thread (http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?p=4128675#post4128675), so I won't get into the specifics...but it's nearly impossible to not draw comparisons to Goldberg's early WCW career (from Goldberg's debut until he won his first US Title) when thinking about Ryback's career thus far. Ryback could definitely be the next wrestler to hold two major titles like this, especially if the WWE keeps his undefeated streak going.

btw - I wonder when/if they're going to start counting Ryback's wins, similar to what they did for Goldberg? ...and how many matches has Ryback won so far anyway? He's only been with the company since June of this year (as the Ryback character), so it couldn't be more than 12 wins maybe. I'm just counting one win per week, if he had a match every week since his debut. Maybe I'm missing matches on Smackdown and/or other shows though. Also, I'm not positive that he's had a match every week since his debut. Does anyone know? Maybe the WWE won't count his wins at all, since he used to wrestle on WWE TV as Skip Sheffield as well. Plus they might not want to encourage more Goldberg chants. I'm not positive that "feed me more" will catch on like the Goldberg chants did, "feed me more" seems more like Ryback's equivalent of Goldberg's "who's next?" catch phrase to me.

 

[Merkin353]

The second I seen Ryback I thought finally a guy who looks like he can beat anyone up if he pleases & that's not from my era (The Attitude Era) Ryback to me is a man to be pushed to the top of the food chain. So why not have two titles... Lets put it this way, if Goldberg never existed & Ryback was the first of his kind. He'd have two titles...

Ps: Can't remember who said it but someone said without faces our precious heels are meaningless... It's actually the other way around. A heel will beat anyone without care. A face needs a heel to feud with so they can overcome it and get people behind said face regaurdless of that mans talent. So yes my friend you are wrong.

 

[LMaruko]

No, no, and no!

All this talk about Ryback being any sort of champion is too soon, IMO. His character is specifically meant (more or less from Vince's own chaotic mindset) to mimic Goldberg, and just be a destructive monster that takes out wrestler after wrestler, without any gleam in his eye about a championship. Sure, have him face the Miz and completely destroy him one week at a time, until HIAC. There, he can dismantle the Miz and get himself disqualified (therein having the Miz still retain). Ryback/Miz continues for another couple of weeks until Miz becomes too afraid to face Ryback on his own, and has an enforcer (Albert... er Tensai or some sort of mid card big guy heel) try and take him out.

After some sort of handicap match comes out of Miz/(Unknown) and Ryback defeats them, he can go and challenge other higher mid-carders, getting to about 100 wins under his belt before he takes on the bigger fish (Cena/Orton/Sheamus, etc) and win some titles.

But no... Ryback shouldn't be in any contention for any title matches as it completely changes the face of his character, and to keep the mid-card titles on the smaller guys. If Ryback is to mimic Goldberg, then just work on his undefeated streak.

Maybe he might have a "Streak VS Streak" against Taker. Who knows.

 

[Kelso1ftw]

I think they decided that he is at least getting over with the crowd so they need to finally do something with him. But what credible heel is out there that he could face? Big Show seems to be taking time off, D-Bry and Kane have their thing going on right now, Cody Rhodes is stuck with Sin Cara, Del Rio is in the title picture, they can't throw him against Wade Barrett because they brought him back, and lastly Ziggler has his feud with Orton. Though when talking about Ziggler a good feud with him could be Ryback and maybe have Ryback win the Title off of him at some point then insert himself directly into the Title picture because he has that "hunger" for good competition. But to the point of the forum this seems like a good match up. Miz is decent in the ring, he can cut promos and he gets decent heel heat. A title will also boost him up into the next tier of competition so he can take on bigger competition such as Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler who are more established then make his way up and up the ladder till he feels like challenging for a world title. I can actually see it taking place as the Heel title holder is out in the ring cutting a promo after successfully retaining his title that he has beaten everyone that there is to beat for the title or something like that. Then in the middle of his promo year hear the "FEED ME MORE" and he walks out and just does his little feed me more chant. Would definitely be an interesting way for him to throw a challenge at someone.

 

[ChadHatter]

Everyone knows that a streak can't last forever. It can last for a long time but never forever. After contemplating the superstars on both Smackdown and Raw I have come to a conclusion. The person who will defeat him is not yet in either of them. Sure, there are those that can defeat him that are already there but what would that do? My guess would be that if he were to be defeated it would have to be someone that is looking to gain something, credibility if you will. If I were to take an educated guess as to who it would be I would take into consideration someone that has been gone for quite some time with a grain of salt. I think I've kept you all in wait long enough, the man would be "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry. I know what you might be thinking that he had a career-threatening surgery and there was no word of him afterwards. Except for the fact that he was a pallbearer at Michael Clarke Duncan's funeral. If he could help carry that larger than life man inside a coffin I'm pretty sure that he is in good health. He has made no attempt to admit that he is done and retired from the business. So if he did come back I believe the first person he would go after would be the unstoppable Ryback. I am not saying that he would beat him as soon as he stepped back in the ring but I do believe that it would eventually happen.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

After the end of RAW tonight, it might be CM Punk. I hate it because Ryback doesn't deserve a title shot yet and if Cena isn't cleared by then, that's exactly what'll happen.

 

[wwehqShorty]

I think Hogan will eventually leave TNA either being fired or he will give up because he doesnt have the knowledge or power to turn that company around... so he will come back to Vince with his tail between his legs....blow him... then get to break Rybacks streak in pay back for having to job to Warrior back at Wrestlemania 6!

Go home, Troll

I think that it will inevitably be Cena to end Ryback's Streak, but i think Cena will turn heel in the process of doing so! Taking Ryback out and attacking him!

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

Honestly, I think Ryback will hold the IC title for quite a while (Maybe pushing around a year) before he gets beat. I feel that's how they will book him.

I think it all depends on where this "thing" with CM Punk leads. If they plan on putting him in the WWE title hunt now, then Punk will be the one to beat him

 

[thedirtybatz]

now hear me out.. i know with ryback and punk having the stare down to end raw makes it seem that it will be punk.. but what if its the "other" haymen guy, brock lesner who returns, and beats him. might be a decent fued.

 

[MaverickAZ]

lesnar isnt sticking around. The Ryback character is a possible, bluechip game changer so to speak. THey arent going to have Ryback job cleanly to Lesnar in a million years