Ryback Claims WWE Doesn't Want To Create Any Marquee Stars

[Jack-Hammer]

As is the case with a number of wrestles who've worked for bigger companies and parted ways on less than amicable terms, Ryback hosts a podcast that he uses as a outlet for his bitterness and generally hurt feelings. Ryback's made a number of podcasts, many of which involve the usual formula of painting himself in the role of a steadfast, upright hero taking on the evil corporation and the members of management who derive pleasure from screwing people over.

Ryback's claims in his latest episode that Triple H told him that WWE doesn't want to create or use marquee stars because the company wants to keep them from attaining "economic freedom." He alleges that, during his first contract negotiations, Ryback was told by Triple H that "we're never going to have another John Cena." Ryback would later say that "And if you look, that's why they book guys the way they book them. They don't want guys to have too much power anymore."

I agree with Ryback in the sense that he seems to be implying that WWE wants to maintain more leverage during contract negotiations. However, that's not a sign of WWE necessarily looking to fuck someone over, but rather it's a company conducting business like a company. After all, I'm sure every wrestler who signs with WWE would love to have a seven figure downside guarantee but that's not gonna happen because it's just not good business.

Ryback's claims of WWE not wanting to create/use marquee stars falls apart quickly when you consider WWE signing wrestlers who were making big money in Japan and who came to WWE because they'd be making bigger money like AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. It also doesn't jive with the sort of pushes we've seen for guys like Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens over the course of the past few years. Roman Reigns was very much looking like he was on his way to becoming the next John Cena before he violated WWE's Wellness Policy and he may very well become Cena's heir apparent yet whether some of us like it or not.

Creating marquee stars isn't an exact science; companies sometimes push the wrong wrestler with the wrong storyline, use the wrong gimmick for a wrestler, push someone too soon, etc. because that's simply the nature of the business. It's nothing new or unique to WWE despite various dirt sheet writers all but coming right out and saying otherwise. When a wrestler gets opportunities, is able to make said opportunities pay off time after time and gets fans behind them, that's going to give said wrestler some degree of influence within the company; there's no way around that because if that wrestler is able to consistently make big money for the company, said company is going to want to keep this wrestler for as long as they can.

Personally, I don't want to see another single star built up to the level of John Cena in the sense that I don't really want another single "face" of the company. I've said in other threads/posts that I'd rather see WWE have a good half dozen or so guys who're able to step up to the main event spot with the ability to consistently remain there. John Cena's star burned so bright and he was protected to such a degree that it was detrimental in some ways because it got to the point where a lot of fans outright snickered at the notion of someone having a shot of putting one over on Big Match John. During the Attitude Era, you had guys like Austin, Rock, Taker, Triple H, Angle, Jericho and possibly Foley as main event regulars during that time who could fill the void if needed. I'd like to see WWE move back to that and it looks like just might be as there's Styles, Owens, Reigns, Rollins and Jericho as definitive main eventers. Some liked Ambrose in the spot, some didn't, though I think Ambrose is someone who'll slip in and out of the main event picture while maintaining a level of star power like Jericho. Bray Wyatt has the ability to be a main eventer, Sami Zayn has potential, Strowman is coming along nicely as the next monster, etc. Right now, none of these guys are built up to such a dramatic degree that the others lack the credibility to face each other, beat each other and hold the main event slots.

 

[Just Do It]

I hope Ryback doesn't go all bitter, because I want to see him back one day. I think some time away from the WWE, connecting with fans and creating a good body of work will do wonders for him.

 

[Kamala316]

HHH: "We're never going to have another John Cena."
Translation: As long as the Network is making money, fans are attending the shows and buying the merch, and WWE is making a profit, why put any major effort into making a new "star" or 'face' of the company?
Personally, I think HHH doesn't want any new "megastars" just so he can make himself look better in wrestling history in the years to come (just watch the Monday Night Wars (through the WWE lens), and see how inflated they made HHH's role look). We'll always have the "Reign of Terror".

 

[Psykohurricane55]

First of all, who really cares about what ryback as to say, he's just dumb bitter ex wwe wrestlers that always thought he was more over then he actually was.

Having said that, they have tried before to create megastars, the problem is that everytime they tried to get someone over as a megastars, the smarks crap on it which give the opportunity for the casual fans to crap on it as well for no real reason otside the fact that they want to be cool.

Getting over as a megastar is getting harder in this internet/scripted era, but a few have been able to break through and become superstar. Aj styles is the perfect exemple of a guy that within a year has become a superstar. The guys need to take mre chances to try and get over instead of costing on script like most o them are doing right now.

 

[johnbragg]

I think it makes a sort of sense for WWE. It took years for John Cena to realize that he had real options outside WWE, and WWE is sort of lucky he didn't and so they got to ride that horse as long as they did.

Is it really in WWE's interest to build up a new Hogan, or Rock, or Cena, or even Lesnar, when that level of stardom gives a performer real leverage in how they're used? Maybe not. If it's part of a red-hot time in the business, then it pays off. But when your top guy can realistically turn down a contract renewal because he can make the same money in movies, you're in a situation where maybe you can't have your top guy headline 3 house shows a week plus a TV every week.

WWE has obviously made more money over the years with John Cena than with Randy ORton. But if John Cena had followed the Rock's path...

Rock won his first title in November 1998. Mummy Returns hit theaters in May 2001, Scorpion King in April 2002. After that Rock is never going to be a full time wrestler. If Cena follows the same type of calendar, he wins his first title in 2005, and is a movie star/wrestler by 2009. (Hollywood movies, not WWE direct-to-video deals.) And Vince McMahon makes a lot less money of John Cena, who makes the same if not better money.

So, in a perfect world for Vince McMahon, you have many Randy Ortons rather than one Cena, Rock or Hogan.

I'm not sure my math is right here. But I suspect you make more money with 10 years of John Cena than with 5 years (approximate total) of the Rock.

 

[johnbragg]

The guys need to take mre chances to try and get over instead of costing on script like most o them are doing right now.

Except that, by the time they're big enough to make the leap to stardom, they've been trained for 5-10 years by WWE to follow their script, and if they don't follow orders they'll end up in TNA or ROH or NEw Japan if they're lucky.

EDIT: Oh, and nobody cares what Ryback has to say. It's news, however, what a former WWE wrestler says that HHH said. Because, if it's true, it gives us insight into WWE's creative and business philosophies. Which we're interested in.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I'm sure it is true, but that's not unlike any other big company that invests heavily in their talents. Without being too specific I work in an industry that has a rather large fan following, and the companies that myself and others in this industry work for, give us a platform to achieve a certain degree of notoriety, but I don't think any of us are under the illusion that we are bigger than the brand. I think wrestling is the same way. They need you to be famous, but not to the degree that your ego makes you impossible to work with, or that you have enough leverage that you could be an asset to another company in damaging WWE. They don't ever want another NWO type situation. This is why nowadays to maintain their monopoly anytime someone starts making waves in the indies, it's easier for them to just buy them up.

That said, if you go in to this business thinking that you are going to become some huge star that transcends wrestling because you've seen a handful of guys, out of thousands do it, than you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Or maybe HHH meant they're never gonna have another John Cena, because simply enough noone's good enough to be the next John Cena and quite frankly, no one should be the next John Cena, but the new "them".

 

[Spidey Revivey]

This sounds like pure bullshit to me. WWE is afraid they'll make a megastar and said megastar will leave the company? Isn't that what contracts are for? This is more like Ryback having sour grapes and trying to say something to stay relevant. John Cena made WWE loads of money. Hogan and Austin too. WWE afraid to have another Cena in their company is practically saying they hate money. This is a little far-fetched. I am more inclined to believe Triple H was misquoted here, or didn't say anything like this at all. Ryback has a history of painting himself as some rebel hero against WWE, so I take whatever he says with a grain of salt.

 

[Navi]

It might be a little bit from column A and a small portion of column B, between what HHH said and what Ryback heard. I mean hell, HHH could have said "We don't want you to be the next John Cena." No one knows for sure, and while I'm not saying Ryback is a liar, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

As for creating the next megastar, that is not solely up to the WWE, part of it is up to the fans on who they will accept. They can throw out there whoever they want, the reaction from the paying customers is what they should take into consideration. In the last year the WWE has had to pull back on Roman Reigns for a number of reasons. His wellness policy violation did him no favours, the fans rejected him at every turn, as they have for the past two years. Everyone has their own reason for either cheering or booing him, and I don't believe for a minute that the so called "smart fans", whoever the hell they are, are the ones causing the problem. Sometimes you have to look at the person themselves to see why they aren't connecting with the crowds.

AJ Styles was put into a sink or swim situation, and he hit a home run. He debuted at the Rumble and has been a bright light for the WWE ever since. Even as a heel he is getting cheered because the fans respect him and what he puts into this business. Not only that he is one hell of a wrestler. Putting him against Cena will do nothing to diminish him either. He's already feuded with Cena, and came out looking better than most do.

Also have a feeling that when Nakamura debuts he'll get the same treatment that Styles is getting from the fans. Some just have a way of connecting that others don't. Ryback I'm not sure ever had it. One thing that is for sure is that he is one bitter man, and it isn't a nice thing to see. I doubt he'll ever come back to the WWE now, what with what he's said since he left. No point burning your bridges when you are a young man like he is. Really surprised he hasn't ended up anywhere else yet. Might say something about him as well.

 

[johnbragg]

Really surprised he hasn't ended up anywhere else yet. Might say something about him as well.

His attitude is one thing, but his skill set is a big problem. Much like Goldberg, he has one story to tell in his matches--Goldberg/Ryback dominates and destroys his opponent. Then "who's next/feed me more." Which works great until you run out of credible opponents.

Hulkamania Hogan matches were just as formulaic, but the formula let the opponent beat on Hulk for a while to put the "face in peril," so the hulk up-big boot-leg drop left some room for a rematch, or for the opponent to move on to someone else.

 

[Wald]

If true it would probably be more to do with Lesnar and Rock quitting when they did than with Cena. WWE invested a lot of energy in to making Lesnar and Rock household names only for them to take off and become bigger stars elsewhere. Vince is probably still smarting about it, even if both have come back and made him some money in the meantime.

That also might be Triple H's philosophy (of not having one megastar) but ut absolutely isn't Vince's. Vince has constantly only pushed one megastar throughout his entire booking career and has taken heat from not allowing other guys rise above where he wanted them. Look at the eras for proof.

Hogan Era - Hulk Hogan, even when Macho Man could have gotten to his level with the right backing.
New Generation - Vince tried Diesel but that bombed so went with HBK, which also bombed, and didn't ever give Bret Hart the megapush despite him being the most over guy on the roster.
Attitude Era - Steve Austin. Yep, I'm not saying Austin and the Rock because it just isn't true. Vince always booked Austin stronger than Rock and Rock only came to the top when Austin went down injured.
Ruthless Agression Era - Brock Lesnar. Short as it was but Brock went over everyone before quitting.
Cena Era - How many times has someone been almost ready to take off but was pulled back because he wasn't John Cena? You could easily make a case for Batista, Edge, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

WWE isn't a meritocracy, never has been. Edge was pulling in better ratings than Cena as champion at one time but it didn't matter. Punk's t-shirt was outselling Cena's but it didn't matter. The Yes Movement was a phenomenon that we had never seen before and may never see again and it didn't matter.

Vince pushes one megastar at a time. Ryback was just never that guy.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I don't believe for a minute that the so called "smart fans", whoever the hell they are, are the ones causing the problem. Sometimes you have to look at the person themselves to see why they aren't connecting with the crowds.

You might no believe that they are causing the problem or that they even exist but if you look at we're the whole backlash toward roman reigns started, it's was in front of a smart crowd at the royal rumble 2 years ago, before that, the guy was starting to get over with the crowd, same thing happen last year. Reigns was super over when he beat Sheamus for the title on the last raw of 2015 then by the rumble, in front of a smart crowd, they got the backlash again. You can say what you want or believe what you want about smart fans and smart crowd but nine times out of tens, their the ones that starts the trend to see if somebody will be accepted or not.

AJ Styles was put into a sink or swim situation, and he hit a home run. He debuted at the Rumble and has been a bright light for the WWE ever since. Even as a heel he is getting cheered because the fans respect him and what he puts into this business. Not only that he is one hell of a wrestler. Putting him against Cena will do nothing to diminish him either. He's already feuded with Cena, and came out looking better than most do.

But again look where he made is debut, again in front of a smart crowd at the royal rumble, those crowd knows who AJ styles is so they cheered him when he came out because of the shook value and because of who he is.
After that he had to prove himself the the casual fans that he belonged in the main event picture because the first couple of months, when he was in front of a casual crowd, he wasn't as over. Has far as fans cheering him right now even through he'S a heel. That's we're a kinda have a problem with that. It Might be because i'm old school but if they really would respect him like you wrote, they wouldn'T cheered him. The guys is great don'T get me wrong, i'm a big fans of the guy but when you act like an ego maniac, i want the babyface to beat the shit out of you no matter how good you are in the ring. In my book that'S how you really connect with the crowd. AJ Styles right now isn'T connecting with the crowd, he's just over because they respect his in ring ability.

Also have a feeling that when Nakamura debuts he'll get the same treatment that Styles is getting from the fans. Some just have a way of connecting that others don't. Ryback I'm not sure ever had it. One thing that is for sure is that he is one bitter man, and it isn't a nice thing to see. I doubt he'll ever come back to the WWE now, what with what he's said since he left. No point burning your bridges when you are a young man like he is. Really surprised he hasn't ended up anywhere else yet. Might say something about him as well.

Again for nakamura, it all depends we're they make him debut on the main roster, if you make him debut in a market like corpus christie, he'S not getting over in his debut because this a b level market with not a lot of fans that are watching NXT or new japan or anything outside WWE raw and smackdown. So Nakamura won'T be over. You have the have him debut in front of a smart crowd. Personally if you really want to make nakamura feel like a megastar right off the bat, have him debut on the raw after wrestlemania, That's the biggest night for them since pretty much all the smart fans from around the world are in the arena that night and he'S going to have a great debut and then like AJ, it'S going to be on him to try and build on this which i think will be harder for him because of the fact that vince isn'T really great in booking foreign wrestlers to make them main event stars. I'm still trying to find a foreign wrestlers that became a main event star under vince mcmahon jr. (yokozuna doesn'T count because he was american)

In the end, the hardcore wrestling fans or smart fans as i like to called them control how the casual fans will react now a day. I think it's not a great situation because guys that would have been main event talent 10 to 20 years ago are stuck being put in the mid card because of that and Ryback was a casualty of that. Just like Reigns, he had all the potential to be a main event level star but he got screwed by a certains section of the crowd that didn'T give him a chance when he started and that was it after that, he never was able to comeback from that.

 

[Navi]

You might no believe that they are causing the problem or that they even exist but if you look at we're the whole backlash toward roman reigns started, it's was in front of a smart crowd at the royal rumble 2 years ago, before that, the guy was starting to get over with the crowd, same thing happen last year. Reigns was super over when he beat Sheamus for the title on the last raw of 2015 then by the rumble, in front of a smart crowd, they got the backlash again. You can say what you want or believe what you want about smart fans and smart crowd but nine times out of tens, their the ones that starts the trend to see if somebody will be accepted or not.

I'm not saying they don't exist, what I'm saying that they aren't the ones who caused this. Reigns winning the Rumble in 2015 was what started this whole ball rolling, and it hasn't stopped, maybe briefly here and there, but it's kept going. He was still fairly new and hasn't been a singles wrestler for that long, plus you had crowd favourite Daniel Bryan getting eliminated early.

If you look at the audiences for a live event, there is a lot of women and kids there. You know casual fans. They aren't at home on internet forums like this one, and they probably don't give a shit if anyone else likes him or not. Reigns doesn't connect with the audience for some reason, and he looks like he doesn't care about it. That is really his only problem. If he could connect the sky would be the limit.

But again look where he made is debut, again in front of a smart crowd at the royal rumble, those crowd knows who AJ styles is so they cheered him when he came out because of the shook value and because of who he is.
After that he had to prove himself the the casual fans that he belonged in the main event picture because the first couple of months, when he was in front of a casual crowd, he wasn't as over. Has far as fans cheering him right now even through he'S a heel. That's we're a kinda have a problem with that. It Might be because i'm old school but if they really would respect him like you wrote, they wouldn'T cheered him. The guys is great don'T get me wrong, i'm a big fans of the guy but when you act like an ego maniac, i want the babyface to beat the shit out of you no matter how good you are in the ring. In my book that'S how you really connect with the crowd. AJ Styles right now isn'T connecting with the crowd, he's just over because they respect his in ring ability.

If you don't think Styles is over, then you don't watch wrestling. The crowds don't boo him because they like him, heel or not. I know that's not the way it's supposed to be, but it is. No matter what he does or say they cheer him. I would rather be Styles than Reigns to tell you the truth.

Again for nakamura, it all depends we're they make him debut on the main roster, if you make him debut in a market like corpus christie, he'S not getting over in his debut because this a b level market with not a lot of fans that are watching NXT or new japan or anything outside WWE raw and smackdown. So Nakamura won'T be over. You have the have him debut in front of a smart crowd. Personally if you really want to make nakamura feel like a megastar right off the bat, have him debut on the raw after wrestlemania, That's the biggest night for them since pretty much all the smart fans from around the world are in the arena that night and he'S going to have a great debut and then like AJ, it'S going to be on him to try and build on this which i think will be harder for him because of the fact that vince isn'T really great in booking foreign wrestlers to make them main event stars. I'm still trying to find a foreign wrestlers that became a main event star under vince mcmahon jr. (yokozuna doesn'T count because he was american)

Quite a number of wrestler's not born in the US have become main event stars. I had to go looking but I found them. Kane was born in Spain. Canada has produced Edge, Christian, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Trish Stratus, Bret Hart and Val Venus among others. Jimmy Snuka is from Fiji, Kofi Kingston hails from Ghana and Bruno Summartino was born in Italy. Sheamus and Becky Lynch are both Irish. Cesaro is Swiss. I'm sure there are more but those as just a few of the ones I found. I don't think Nakamura will have a problem. He has charisma out the wazhoo, and he is tremendous in the ring.

In the end, the hardcore wrestling fans or smart fans as i like to called them control how the casual fans will react now a day. I think it's not a great situation because guys that would have been main event talent 10 to 20 years ago are stuck being put in the mid card because of that and Ryback was a casualty of that. Just like Reigns, he had all the potential to be a main event level star but he got screwed by a certains section of the crowd that didn'T give him a chance when he started and that was it after that, he never was able to comeback from that.

I don't believe smart fans as you call them control how others think. Everyone watches wrestling for their own enjoyment and only if you are an idiot do you let others sway your judgement. That's why you hear dueling chants in arena's. Not everyone is going to like every wrestler. Just go and enjoy the ones that you do like. I don't worry about what others around me are doing and saying. I paid for my ticket and no one tells me what to do.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I'm not saying they don't exist, what I'm saying that they aren't the ones who caused this. Reigns winning the Rumble in 2015 was what started this whole ball rolling, and it hasn't stopped, maybe briefly here and there, but it's kept going. He was still fairly new and hasn't been a singles wrestler for that long, plus you had crowd favourite Daniel Bryan getting eliminated early.

If you look at the audiences for a live event, there is a lot of women and kids there. You know casual fans. They aren't at home on internet forums like this one, and they probably don't give a shit if anyone else likes him or not. Reigns doesn't connect with the audience for some reason, and he looks like he doesn't care about it. That is really his only problem. If he could connect the sky would be the limit.



If you don't think Styles is over, then you don't watch wrestling. The crowds don't boo him because they like him, heel or not. I know that's not the way it's supposed to be, but it is. No matter what he does or say they cheer him. I would rather be Styles than Reigns to tell you the truth.



Quite a number of wrestler's not born in the US have become main event stars. I had to go looking but I found them. Kane was born in Spain. Canada has produced Edge, Christian, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Trish Stratus, Bret Hart and Val Venus among others. Jimmy Snuka is from Fiji, Kofi Kingston hails from Ghana and Bruno Summartino was born in Italy. Sheamus and Becky Lynch are both Irish. Cesaro is Swiss. I'm sure there are more but those as just a few of the ones I found. I don't think Nakamura will have a problem. He has charisma out the wazhoo, and he is tremendous in the ring.



I don't believe smart fans as you call them control how others think. Everyone watches wrestling for their own enjoyment and only if you are an idiot do you let others sway your judgement. That's why you hear dueling chants in arena's. Not everyone is going to like every wrestler. Just go and enjoy the ones that you do like. I don't worry about what others around me are doing and saying. I paid for my ticket and no one tells me what to do.

First of all, I know that you can't please everybody, that's normal, but to say that reigns hasn't connected with anybody is very short sighted in my opinion. I see and heard alot of kids and women's, you know the casual fans actually cheering for him. In casual market, you will get a 50/50 cheer/boos dynamic. Plus last year, when , he was supposedly at his highest hated state, he was one of the biggest merchandise seller in the company, ahead of all the internet darlings like ambrose, rollins, owens. Styles was going head to head as far as merch sales was concern, so reigns was actually connecting with somebody.

Secondly, like I wrote before, while I think styles is over and he his over, he's not over the way he should. All I wrote was that if the fans truly cared about him and respected him, they would let him do his job and react to his personna instead of the performers. That's what make a great performer in my opinion. Somebody that is able to make the fans hated you even if they want to cheer you.

Finally, I think that hardcore wrestling fans or smart fans like I like to called are a huge influence on how the casual fans will react especially with males fans that just want to be cool and do like everybody else. The problem is that alot of casual fans do watch raw and smackdown and they heard crowd like the one in chicago who is considered a smart crowd hate roman reigns or tried to hijack the show and think this look like fun, why not do that when they come to town and will imitate what they saw on tv.

I know that nobody takes wrestling seriously like they use too back in the days and that it's the fault of both the wrestlers and the creative/vince mcmahon if this phenomenon is happening but I still think that smart fans that don't believe that this is real and would rather get they're opinion over instead of just trying to make the product better by not crapping on everything is a big problem that make the product worst in the end.

I do miss the keyfabe era when heels we're heels and babyface we're babyface and fans still believe in what was on tv. On a side note while I love the fact that you gave me a list of foreign wrestlers that got over, I don't considered canafian wrestlers as foreign wrestlers bruno will italian was as ameican as any other wrestlers in his era same goes for kane and the rest while they are or we're over, never got to the main event level which was the point of my comment about foreign wrestlers and vince mcmahon but since that comment was about nakamura and if he will become a megastar like styles, I will give you this test, found me one Japanese wrestlers that vince push to a main event level or even knew how to booked them to get over and again yokozuna doesn't counted because he was american.

 

[Navi]

First of all, I know that you can't please everybody, that's normal, but to say that reigns hasn't connected with anybody is very short sighted in my opinion. I see and heard alot of kids and women's, you know the casual fans actually cheering for him. In casual market, you will get a 50/50 cheer/boos dynamic. Plus last year, when , he was supposedly at his highest hated state, he was one of the biggest merchandise seller in the company, ahead of all the internet darlings like ambrose, rollins, owens. Styles was going head to head as far as merch sales was concern, so reigns was actually connecting with somebody.

Secondly, like I wrote before, while I think styles is over and he his over, he's not over the way he should. All I wrote was that if the fans truly cared about him and respected him, they would let him do his job and react to his personna instead of the performers. That's what make a great performer in my opinion. Somebody that is able to make the fans hated you even if they want to cheer you.

Finally, I think that hardcore wrestling fans or smart fans like I like to called are a huge influence on how the casual fans will react especially with males fans that just want to be cool and do like everybody else. The problem is that alot of casual fans do watch raw and smackdown and they heard crowd like the one in chicago who is considered a smart crowd hate roman reigns or tried to hijack the show and think this look like fun, why not do that when they come to town and will imitate what they saw on tv.

I know that nobody takes wrestling seriously like they use too back in the days and that it's the fault of both the wrestlers and the creative/vince mcmahon if this phenomenon is happening but I still think that smart fans that don't believe that this is real and would rather get they're opinion over instead of just trying to make the product better by not crapping on everything is a big problem that make the product worst in the end.

I do miss the keyfabe era when heels we're heels and babyface we're babyface and fans still believe in what was on tv. On a side note while I love the fact that you gave me a list of foreign wrestlers that got over, I don't considered canafian wrestlers as foreign wrestlers bruno will italian was as ameican as any other wrestlers in his era same goes for kane and the rest while they are or we're over, never got to the main event level which was the point of my comment about foreign wrestlers and vince mcmahon but since that comment was about nakamura and if he will become a megastar like styles, I will give you this test, found me one Japanese wrestlers that vince push to a main event level or even knew how to booked them to get over and again yokozuna doesn't counted because he was american.

I always feel like I'm on a merry go round with you on a thread, so this time I am getting off early. You have your opinion and I have mine and that's all good.

As for your test, Google is your friend. You made a statement about foreign wrestler's not achieving main event status in the WWE, there is a list of names that proved that there is. You may not consider Canadians as foreigners but we are. As a matter of fact Kevin Owens a Canadian is holding the WWE Universal Title right now, so there is another one. He and all the other names I provided have all been champions and held WWE belts at some point in their careers. Some have help multiple title's, so the claim that Vince will only push those born in America is hogwash.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I don't think Ryback is that crazy, but his wording is probably wrong and thus his meaning is off... WWE NEEDS to create "marquee" stars and they are doing, but what they no longer want to create is "multimedia, pop culture" stars as they can be poached too easily by Hollywood/TV and there is a lingering issue that eventually SAG and the other acting unions will get involved. The more WWE guys "act part time" while being part of a show competing against union members, the more it's gonna become a problem...to the point the unions will start pushing... The only thing Vince fears more than a "wrestler's union" is his guys having to go under actors union rules...

Where I think Ryback was coming from is that they may still be selling the Cena/Rock/Austin dream to talents or have been relatively recently and lets face it Cena's preferential treatment, fucks off for 3 months, does SNL, gets his 16th title (we know it's happening) at AJ's expense, even if he gets it back... won't help other guys adjust.

Lately they have been quit "cold" when it comes to titles, month or so rather than an extended time to show you deserve it and that does feed into what Ryback is talking about... no one talent can get THAT over... those who do, like Bryan, get put down one way or another. They can't mess with the top top guys like Taker, Rock, Jericho etc and they know it... but the younger guys are probably under no illusions now that they can ever get to that level.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I always feel like I'm on a merry go round with you on a thread, so this time I am getting off early. You have your opinion and I have mine and that's all good.

As for your test, Google is your friend. You made a statement about foreign wrestler's not achieving main event status in the WWE, there is a list of names that proved that there is. You may not consider Canadians as foreigners but we are. As a matter of fact Kevin Owens a Canadian is holding the WWE Universal Title right now, so there is another one. He and all the other names I provided have all been champions and held WWE belts at some point in their careers. Some have help multiple title's, so the claim that Vince will only push those born in America is hogwash.

For my foreign comment expecially Japanese superstars, I'm just talkng since vince took over from his dad. I know that during tje early years of wwe before vince jr took over you they did have more foreigns wrestlers as main eventers but again you have you're opinion and as have mine like you wrote, this might be because we are not from the same era of fandom, I don't know but since vince took over from from his dad, no japanese wrestlers have made it to the main event level or even to the the upper midcard and they got threated like jokes even if some of them like funaki and kenzo sazuki won some championship,

 

[berlinbrawler]

Ryback has always fancied himself a megastar easily on the level of the Rock, Cena, Stone Cold or Hogan - if only the evil powers that run the machine wouldn't hold him back. In reality all he ever was was a poor man's Goldberg with very little charisma (and very big ears). His lamenting is neither surprising, nor should it be taken seriously.

 

[#hamler]

Ryback's bitterness is so glaringly noticable that he's conjuring up anything just to stay relevant now that he's not on WWE's payroll anymore. Ryback is loosening the bolts on the bridge back to WWE with all his crazy theories and this one like all the others holds no water as it seems Reigns is being penciled in as the next marquee star as we speak.

I've said this a time or two on these forums, Ryback could've should've been a top star; at least for a while. His rise to power during his feud with Punk saw him get so close to achieving that marquee status and that in it's own right proves Ryback's theory wrong. He was so madly over when he first hoisted Punk up for the Shell Shock. WWE tried using Ryback as a top guy he just didn't click with the audience. Thats where Ryback's theory is coming from and it's evident he's a bit butt hurt from it all.

I've said in other threads/posts that I'd rather see WWE have a good half dozen or so guys who're able to step up to the main event spot with the ability to consistently remain there.

The head of the nail has never been hit more perfectly. I know it's the hip thing to do to hate the Attitude Era but this is what made it so great. You had several big names in the company that could transition from mid card to main event all within a month and no one would care. That's something that is severely lacking in today's product and probably the only area where Ryback's theory makes sense.

 

[closet_fan]

Ryback's bitterness is so glaringly noticable that he's conjuring up anything just to stay relevant now that he's not on WWE's payroll anymore. Ryback is loosening the bolts on the bridge back to WWE with all his crazy theories and this one like all the others holds no water as it seems Reigns is being penciled in as the next marquee star as we speak.

I agree on both points. Ryback has undercut anything and everything the WWE did during his time. Outside of bad mouthing Punk every chance he gets, this is just one of A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of stories from Ryback that have made the WWE, Cena, etc look awful.

The WWE, and even Paul Heyman, did everything they could to get Ryback over and they just couldn't do it.

Yeah he got "Feed Me More" chants, but fans nowadays say anything to try and hijack a show.

Reigns is slowly starting to branch out with the new "Be a Better Parent" commercials. That right there tells me the WWE wants him to be something other than just another wrassler.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Bray is probably the best example of what Ryback is talking about, even though he wants us to believe he is that example.

Bray Wyatt should be a megastar by now, they can blame injuries but he has always been insanely over, with the theme, the fireflies, his whole deal. He's also the kind of guy who has a brain of his own and the scope to go outside of WWE relatively easily, not to the level of Dwayne but you could imagine Bray ending up on a TV show or a subculture show around his interests like Shawn's hunting show.

Vince wants him to always be a WWE guy... so he doesn't give him enough that he gets too big...

 

[ShinChan]

Bray is probably the best example of what Ryback is talking about, even though he wants us to believe he is that example.

Bray Wyatt should be a megastar by now, they can blame injuries but he has always been insanely over, with the theme, the fireflies, his whole deal. He's also the kind of guy who has a brain of his own and the scope to go outside of WWE relatively easily, not to the level of Dwayne but you could imagine Bray ending up on a TV show or a subculture show around his interests like Shawn's hunting show.

Vince wants him to always be a WWE guy... so he doesn't give him enough that he gets too big...

I agree with you about Bray Wyatt. This guy has good enough mic skills to be a main eventer. But he couldn't even defeat Undertaker and Kane in a tag match. While WWE was forcing Roman Reigns upon us with par mic skills, this guy with an unique gimmick and good mic skills was lurking around with no direction.

About Ryback, I have been following him since his release from WWE. All he has done is praise himself endlessly and paint himself as the heartiest hero of all time. I stopped trusting him when he referred Vince saying that he would squash that pimp AJ Styles. Even Vince could've said it but Styles wouldn't be a World Champion as of now if Vince thought Styles as a pimp.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Bray is probably the best example of what Ryback is talking about, even though he wants us to believe he is that example.

Bray Wyatt should be a megastar by now, they can blame injuries but he has always been insanely over, with the theme, the fireflies, his whole deal. He's also the kind of guy who has a brain of his own and the scope to go outside of WWE relatively easily, not to the level of Dwayne but you could imagine Bray ending up on a TV show or a subculture show around his interests like Shawn's hunting show.

Vince wants him to always be a WWE guy... so he doesn't give him enough that he gets too big...

I have to disagree with you on this. Bray wyatt's isn't over, is entrance is. As soon as he gets in the ring, fans stop caring about him, last year, they we're actually some market that we're either booeing is promos or just not reacting at all.

Their a big difference between being over and being over because of a cool entrance. Just look at nakamura or bobby roode in nxt, thoses guys have cool entrances but when they enter the ring and wrestles or even cut a promo, fans are still reacting. That's not the point with wyatt.

The problem with wyatt, is that he got a gimmick that would have work back in the early 90's when you had to live the gimmick. When you know that wyatt isn't this character outside of the ring, it's hard to believe in the character.

This isn't a knock on the guy because he's great as a character and I'm a fan of the guy, but their just something that isn't clicking with the audience after the entrance is over and that's too bad.

 

[ShinChan]

I have to disagree with you on this. Bray wyatt's isn't over, is entrance is. As soon as he gets in the ring, fans stop caring about him, last year, they we're actually some market that we're either booeing is promos or just not reacting at all.

Their a big difference between being over and being over because of a cool entrance. Just look at nakamura or bobby roode in nxt, thoses guys have cool entrances but when they enter the ring and wrestles or even cut a promo, fans are still reacting. That's not the point with wyatt.

The problem with wyatt, is that he got a gimmick that would have work back in the early 90's when you had to live the gimmick. When you know that wyatt isn't this character outside of the ring, it's hard to believe in the character.

This isn't a knock on the guy because he's great as a character and I'm a fan of the guy, but their just something that isn't clicking with the audience after the entrance is over and that's too bad.

Fans stop caring about him when he enters the ring? Really? I mean, really? You think that Bray Wyatt has no contribution in getting his entrance over? Infact, he is himself over. Give the same entrance to anyone you want and see what happens.

You're comparing him to Roode and Nakamura? That's comparing apples to oranges. Do Nakamura or Roode have a cult leader gimmick like Bray Wyatt? Do Roode or Nakamura ever cut creepy promos?

I seriously doubt if you're a fan of him. Because if you were, you would've known that he's over. He hasn't been pushed in the main event scene. I can give you multiple examples to showcase that he's over.

1. When Triple H was the champion this year, just watch the crowd reaction when he teases his title.
2. Just go back to after Wrestlemania and witness his 2 week long face run. He received big pops while teaming with Roman Reigns of all people against League of Nations.
3. See the pop he received when he finally won his first title.

But no, he isn't over but his entrance is over. More over than Roman Reigns whom WWE had and continues to push in main event scene.