Ryback: Is He Still "It"?

[Dave]

Remember back about a year or two ago? All of the noise coming from the WWE was that Skip Sheffield was going to be "the guy". Fast forward a year or two and this onlooker says that Ryback has not been able to follow up on that potential, even though the WWE have continually toyed with the idea.

Ryback has been an impressive big man who the company have tried to make look almost unbeatable. Actually for a while, he was totally unbeatable. They have built him up to be a strong baby face who could also transition to heel without much work. But still, I don't think he has made his push count.

The upcoming Mania main event got me thinking. It seems as though Rowan Reigns has taken that spot from Ryback. Ryback has the look, decent mic skills and a chant that is pretty over with the crowd. Truth be told, I think that Ryback versus Lesnar would have been a better main event. But that's a conversation for another day. Still, it really strikes me that Reigns seems to have followed up on the plan and the porltential that was promised to Ryback. And with Reigns now in place (for better of for worse) it doesn't seem like Ryback will ever be able to get that spot back; for me they are just too similar.

But what do you think, can Ryback eventually be "the guy" in the WWE like he was thought to be? Does he deserve it? And do you agree that Roman Reigns seems to be Operation: Ryback part II?

 

[Navi]

No I think to tell you the truth as soon as Vince laid eyes on Reigns he would be pushed to the moon. I've said this before, that the only reason he's got the spot he has now is because of his looks. If he looked like Ryback, he'd still be back in NXT.

They killed Ryback's momentum by turning him heel, and he might never recover from it to make it back to the top. Too many others are nipping at his heels. He's an upper mid carder at best now.

And if you look at it the WWE has systematically killed almost everyone's momentum this year. It started with Cesaro, who was crazy over, then Ambrose, Ryback and Ziggler. It's all be done in an effort to make sure Roman Reigns is the top spot. They even went so far to have their most over guy and the fans choice endorse the hell out of him. It's been kind of disgusting to watch really.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

At one point, I do think WWE had intentions of making Ryback the heir apparent to John Cena. IF various reports from that time are correct, however, Ryback didn't want to seem to do the additional work required from someone that's "the guy" in WWE. Allegedly, he treated fans like garbage at autograph sessions, he didn't like doing interviews with local media to promote WWE and upcoming shows, there were multiple accusations of him being reckless inside the ring, etc.

I think the ship has sailed for Ryback to ultimately be "the guy" and it seems that Reigns has stepped into those shoes. Like Ryback, Reigns has the sort of superheroic stature that Vince McMahon wants as "the guy" for his company but Reigns also has the whole tall, dark & handsome thing going for him as well. Ryback's generally a big meathead while Roman Reigns makes the girls swoon in ways similar to what we've seen with John Cena over the years. At the same time, Ryback was much more over than Reigns has been as he won over a lot of male fans once WWE moved him out of his Goldberg phase and adult males make up the big majority of WWE's audience. That's not to say that Reigns doesn't have male fans cheering for him, but I think he gets much more boos than cheers from the men.

The jury's still out on whether or not Reigns becomes Cena's replacement. I think he still has quite a ways to go and only time'll tell.

 

[Mac]

I think the Ryback being "the guy" ship has sailed. The WWE killed his momentum and it started when they needlessly put him in the cell match against CM Punk. He simply wasn't ready nor were the WWE actually ready to put him over. They should've continued to build him up to get him ready for a possible main event run by WM 30. Instead they had him do job after job on PPV's and the final nail was him losing to Mark Henry at WM 29. That made no sense to me. Then they turn him heel to feed him to the John Cena monster because they ran out of credible heels. That period between October 2012-May 2013 completely ruined his momentum. I think he can have a solid career as a upper mid carder at best, but the WWE has done too much dirt for him to be taken seriously as the guy.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think the Ryback being "the guy" ship has sailed.

That seems to be so, yet it's really hard to say why. The guy had two major cracks at breaking the big time. During his first go-around, it seemed circumstances caused management to thrust him into the main event well before he was ready. The company spent a lot of time at the beginning putting Ryback in matches in which he destroyed two tomato cans at once, and those gimmick matches were repeated way too many times. Then, he engaged in a stupid looking feud with a pre-3MB Jindar Mahal, in which it was obvious who was going to win. Then, suddenly, someone gets injured and Ryback is in against CM Punk in main event matches. No, Ryback didn't acquit himself well, but it seemed unfair to judge him harshly because he shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place.

He struggled on, partnering with Curtis Axel, and then......he was taken off TV for re-packaging, I presume. Somewhere along the line, he turned heel.

So, what happens? He comes back with the same schtick as before, except he's a face again. Same tag lines, same finisher, same everything except he gets belted around more than before, which was actually a good move; he seemed more human and less like a cyborg sent to us from the 24th century. (I can just see Ryback playing the Arnold Schwarzenegger role in "The Terminator: "Hasta la vista, baby. Feed me more.")

Watching Ryback in action, I don't know exactly what causes him to fall short. Given the rumored love of Vince McMahon for big guys, the company will give him any (and every) chance. Yet, he doesn't feature as a top level performer, and it's hard to say why. This time around, he certainly sells better for opponents than he used to, getting knocked around more than before.....and while that diminishes the sense of invincibility he used to project, it makes him more entertaining to watch in the ring.

But, however much pro wrestling strives to imitate real life.....it isn't, and I wouldn't be shocked to see Ryback wearing a championship belt some day. If that happens, it will be very interesting to see how he handles it.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

2012 on SD, his pops were amazing and he really brought that big match feel to mediocre matches just by his presence. He was going great, and i remember the pop he got when the camera panned and it was Ryback who came to save Foley from Punk. The subsequent loss and then the storyline following that wrecked him.

As a seething bull, he is great but I think the sheer dilution of his character and how it was devolved has put him in a position of no progress. He is great in the ring for a big man, but if he wants anyone to take him seriously, he needs to feud with a big dog. Then lets see. In 2015, Ryback is irrelevant.

 

[TDFG]

I don't see where Ryback fits in.

With their being one World Title he's miles away from the main-event, and the IC & US Title scene is stacked with guys like BNB, Ambrose, Ziggler & we've still got Sheamus to return.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

But what do you think, can Ryback eventually be "the guy" in the WWE like he was thought to be?

Meh, think that sheep past away long time ago. Thought they will do something like that after SS but WWE once again proved that it has no direction regarding some of their talents.

Does he deserve it?

Quite frankly, no. Stiff worker and not so good on mic. If he doesnt have right "looks" Vince and other want he wouldnt even be pushed at all

And do you agree that Roman Reigns seems to be Operation: Ryback part II?

In a way that (as Ryback before) Reigns is looked as next big thing yes. In all other ways no. They allready labeled Reigns as next big thing even before Shield with his look and background as part of being member of one of the most succesfull familys in wrestling and cousin of The Rock one of the biggest superstars they ever had.

 

[FromGlasgow]

Never heard of Ryback getting pushed as the WWE's number one guy I must have missed that one, Its difficult to tell with Ryback ive never seen anything from him that overly impressed me but ive never felt like fast forwarding or turning channel while he's on either like I do with a few others in todays WWE. I would have prefered to see him to face Brock at Wrestlemania than Reigns but that could be said about a lot of the roster facing Brock instead of Reigns.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I'm with FromGlasgow on this one, I never heard anything about Ryback being "the guy". He's had a bunch of start & stops & even a cup of coffee or two in the main event scene with Punk & Cena, but the only talk I even heard about Ryback winning the title or anything was when he first faced Punk at Hell in a Cell 2012 & not only was that all from the fans but pretty much all his momentum was killed off immediately after when he lost thanks to Maddox & Cena returned shortly there after anyways. Not to mention that would've killed Punk's record breaking title reign & Ryback was still pretty green at the time, so I don't think WWE ever had plans on pushing him as the champion or anything like that. If anything, I think Ryback is Sheamus: Part II. A top prospect for the future at one point but never the true focal point. Only difference is WWE actually pulled the trigger with Sheamus & let him get the big upset win for the title because he was a heel at the time... & I guess we can all see what that led to.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

No I think to tell you the truth as soon as Vince laid eyes on Reigns he would be pushed to the moon. I've said this before, that the only reason he's got the spot he has now is because of his looks. If he looked like Ryback, he'd still be back in NXT.

They killed Ryback's momentum by turning him heel, and he might never recover from it to make it back to the top. Too many others are nipping at his heels. He's an upper mid carder at best now.

And if you look at it the WWE has systematically killed almost everyone's momentum this year. It started with Cesaro, who was crazy over, then Ambrose, Ryback and Ziggler. It's all be done in an effort to make sure Roman Reigns is the top spot. They even went so far to have their most over guy and the fans choice endorse the hell out of him. It's been kind of disgusting to watch really.

I think Ambrose was the biggest casualty of all this. He was the most over character in the fall, he main evented 2 PPVs and was selling tons of merchandise on WWEShop. He was getting huge. They then made sure to have him lose EVERY SINGLE MATCH so no one would view him as a potential top contender when Roman Reigns got his push. I think that was very transparent and disgusting to watch.

Speaking of which, I gotta ask. Why do you have Roman Reigns on your profile picture if you're so disgusted with his push? lol

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

But what do you think, can Ryback eventually be "the guy" in the WWE like he was thought to be? Does he deserve it? And do you agree that Roman Reigns seems to be Operation: Ryback part II?[/QUOTE]

No. No. And no.

Ryback was a half hearted attempt to create a new Goldberg-esque character and it failed largely because the WWE couldn't plan around its destined Cena/Rock rematch that threw their entire roster into limbo for over a year. But, Ryback's been given opportunities to get over again with the crowd and hasn't been able to due to overall lack of talent. I think any comparison to Reigns is based on them simply being "big guys". Reigns' spot on the roster is based on two things: photogenics and a passing resemblance to the Rock. That's it. He just looks the part for what McMahon envisions as his top guy. His talent is okay...nothing bad, nothing to write home about. His biggest drawback is his promo ability and that's gotten a little better.

 

[Radical]

Depends on what you mean by "the guy." If you mean like Cena where he's the perennial face and top main event guy for years. Then no. But that's a no for EVERYONE else who isn't Cena.

I believe Cena was a super unique situation that will not likely ever be repeated.

WWE going forth will do what it did in the past in the Attitude Era where it was based around Stone Cold and The Rock but still hugely important to the main event was also Mankind, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle and then a bunch of other guys who had some main event spotlight but were mostly upper mid-card guys.

Ryback should be one of those other 'hugely important' guys but not until he works up some more credibility in the mid-upper card over 2015. WWE would likely benefit from having him be one of the guys to beat Rusev in a feud going 1 or 2 months and also being US champ for at least a good 2 or 3 months would be great in 2015.

Then by 2016 WWE has to decide if he is going to win the WWE title or not. Nobody will really benefit from Ryback in a WWE title match again if he loses. We all know how that worked out before. He needs to be in the match and win strong if they are going to go that way or else if he has to lose it should be in a multi-man match with outside interference that leads to another feud for him.

In quick summary, Ryback should not be 'the only guy' but he should be 'one of the guys' because he's improved a lot and can be used well and believably in the mid to upper card. He should be a slow burn push, though. Main event is going to be super packed in 2015 and Ryback will lose so much momentum if he's pushed into main event feuds again with someone like Reigns, Brock, Cena or Wyatt before he's built up more credibility. Let Ryback have a good mid-upper card year of dominance with a US or IC title reign in there and then in 2016 he can go on a bigger push to the main event.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Tough to say. Ryback is all jacked up which Vince likes but he really doesn't fit the pretty-boy mold that Vince wants for his champs. Look at the 2 guys who the fans were behind the most over the last few years - Punk and Bryan. Not exactly GQ but they were made the champ. However look at the issues - Punk was the champ but Cena was still the main attraction, Bryan only got made champ once Punk walked and the fans flipped. They didn't have that look that Vince likes where as a Cena, Orton or Reigns does. Ryback doesn't have that look either. I think unless the fans really get behind him, we will see his sink back down the card like we did before. Don't really need him as a heel since they have Rusev.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Ryback was never going to to be half as big as Vince thought he was. Anyone with even the tiniest understanding of wrestling knew Ryback would never succeed. He's the definition of a guy whose catchphrase was over, not him. Ryback is one of the worst wrestlers in the history of the sport, can't work a match to save his life, and has the charisma of roadkill. Tagging with Curtis Axel is the only thing that saved his career, otherwise he would have been released by now. What little Ryback currently knows about wrestling, he learned from Curtis Axel. Ryback is MUCH better suited to be a heel, and needs to turn heel again if he's going to have any relevancy. Ryback isn't believable as a face and never was.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I think Ambrose was the biggest casualty of all this. He was the most over character in the fall, he main evented 2 PPVs and was selling tons of merchandise on WWEShop. He was getting huge. They then made sure to have him lose EVERY SINGLE MATCH so no one would view him as a potential top contender when Roman Reigns got his push. I think that was very transparent and disgusting to watch.

Dean Ambrose was "over" for about a month, because WWE was desperately low on talent. Even then, he was a distant second to Dolph Ziggler. Ambrose is bland, mediocre, and even less deserving of a push then his Shield counterparts. Frankly even as a potential midcard champion, Ambrose isn't even remotely believable to me. He's just an idiot goofball who makes ridiculous facial expressions and kills the illusion of the sport.

 

[Navi]

I think Ambrose was the biggest casualty of all this. He was the most over character in the fall, he main evented 2 PPVs and was selling tons of merchandise on WWEShop. He was getting huge. They then made sure to have him lose EVERY SINGLE MATCH so no one would view him as a potential top contender when Roman Reigns got his push. I think that was very transparent and disgusting to watch.

Speaking of which, I gotta ask. Why do you have Roman Reigns on your profile picture if you're so disgusted with his push? lol

Because believe it or not I'm a fan of his. I just don't agree with the way he's being handled and think he's being pushed too early. He's so totally not ready, no matter how much he says he is. He was crushed at the Rumble when they started booing him. He needs a much thicker skin to survive this business.

Once he does get the experience his title run should have been something special. I don't think it will be now, he'll end up like Sheamus, get a couple of runs and then lost in the shuffle. And it's a shame.

I'm a big proponent of fairness and there are better wrestlers on the card that deserve the spot more. Just because I'm a fan doesn't mean I'm blind to his faults like so many others are.

Also an fan of Ambrose as well, and I agree he is a huge casualty but he does have the experience and the fortitude to recover. Unlike Reigns, Ambrose can adapt to change.