Specific reasons for Ryback demotion

[wrestler36]

All I've read over the past year is that he had a bad attitude backstage and he hurt people in the ring. Are there specific examples of this? I mean, he's been part of WWE since Tough Enough, wouldn't they have known early on that he had a bad attitude? Why would they let him on NXT? Why would they change him to his Ryback character and push him to the moon? As far as being stiff in the ring, look at Lesnar's first run. He almost broke the necks of Hardcore Holly and A-Train. I think RVD's been known to hurt people in the ring with his kicks. And it's not like he didn't get over. Feed Me More was a huge chant. People looked forward to the meathook/Shellshock. Is there something that I'm missing here? He may not be 'the' guy, but he still could've been a major player right now, having feuds with guys like Rusev, Lesnar, HHH, etc.

 

[Navi]

When Ryback was first getting his push, he was getting bigger pops than Cena was. The crowds used to go crazy whenever he showed up. Rumour has it because of this, the WWE turned him heel and fed him to Cena. Why I have no idea, but since his heel turn, he's done nothing. This is what happens to you when you start to become bigger than the face of the WWE.

As for him being a prick, that part is true. I said this on another thread here, that a friend of mine worked for Sky Sports in the UK. He interviewed Ryback and it was so bad they didn't use it. He wouldn't answer questions with more than a one word answer. He also is a swine to fans when they meet him at paid for meet and greets. These fans pay a lot of money to meet their favourites, and at one a friend of mine was at, Ryback sat there and said nothing to anyone the whole time. He spoke to WWE employees and no on else.

I've never been a fan of his, not for the reason's above, just because he doesn't appeal to me, face or heel.

 

[cmpunkguy]

This past week on Raw he made a huge no-no by playing to his home crowd and getting baby face reactions even though he is supposed to be a heel. As a heel it is his job to make the crowd boo him, but when he started getting home town support rather than do something to turn them and cause them to boo he played it up and received a ton of baby face cheers. This is a huge problem for a guy who is supposed to be trying to get over as a heel. Orton may have gotten some heat backstage as well as he played up a hot tag for Ryback which gave even more cheers to Ryback. He clearly doesn't get how the business works or doesn't care.

 

[Navi]

He was wrestling in his home town in front of people who actually know him. Of course he's going to get cheered, and I think the WWE is quite well aware of it. Happens everytime a wrestlers is in front of the hometown crowds. Well with maybe the exception of Cena, who seems to get's boo'd wherever he goes.

You can't punish a wrestler because his the crowd in Vegas cheered him. It's not his fault. If they didn't want it to happen, then they shouldn't have put him on the card that night.

 

[cmpunkguy]

It's one thing to be cheered in your home town. It is quite a different thing to play to the crowd and encourage more cheers when you are trying to get over as a heel. This is counter productive and works against the guys who should be getting cheered. A heel is a heel and gets booed whenever they are or at the very least tries to be booed.

 

[InstantAttitude]

That's a nice username you got. That guy defiantly did try to get booed in Chicago at that MITB PPV.

 

[Pedigree1]

There is a lot of reasons why Ryback has been depushed.. He has been told numerous times that he is too stiff to work with,and basically has ignored such requests to improve.. He is too strong for his own good,he is just clumsy and awkward to work with.. His Mic Skills are not all that impressive,plus i believe it was during WM time,that he ignored media and radio interviews.

Plus rumors surfaced of him being an ass to fans and ignoring autograph request! Those reasons alone might be enough to de-push him! Ryback is a dime a dozen! As far as his home town goes,of course he is gonna get cheered. that has no reason why he isn't ascending to the top

 

[cmpunkguy]

Ryback playing to his home town was not why he was depushed obviously as that happened a long time ago. I was merely pointing out one of many reasons he isn't ready to advance in his career.

You mention Punk getting cheered in Chicago, but remember that was when he wanted to be cheered despite what the company wanted him to do. When he wanted to be booed he could get heat like few others and just as easily as he could get a crowd behind him. That is one of many reasons he is sorely missed.

 

[Alastor]

Ryback had a bad rep for having a bad attitude with nobody around to protect him. Guys like Lesnar or RVD could get way with things because they have big backers behind them to protect themselves. Ryback was a missed opportunity because the gimmick was hot. Too bad the wrestler isn't as willing to entertain and probably is too big a mark for himself when he didn't have any leverage like Hogan or Cena.

 

[Tyrant25]

I just love the "he was getting more pops than Cena, so they buried him" excuse. It's ridiculous. Why wouldn't WWE want someone to get more popular, so they can make money off of Cena AND Ryback? It's just more IWC bull to justify their hate for Cena. Ryback was demoted, it's over, we've moved on. It could be his attitude, could be his stiff style, we don't know.

 

[Mustang Sally]

When Ryback was first getting his push, he was getting bigger pops than Cena was. The crowds used to go crazy whenever he showed up.........This is what happens to you when you start to become bigger than the face of the WWE.

Of course, we don't know the inside dope on Cena or the other personalities involved, but I would hate to think this was so, if for no other reason than while the company might cater to Cena on certain matters, it would be counterproductive of them to keep down an employee who's getting a great reaction just because Cena got jealous. I mean, c'mon.

There have been several good reasons postulated in this topic as to why Ryback was demoted, but let's not forget this one: it could be he was only promoted in the first place because the company needed someone to engage in title matches against CM Punk.....and Ryback, even though he wasn't really ready (on several levels) wound up drawing the assignment. I didn't think he acquitted himself particularly well, and once his temp duties at the top were finished, he was dropped back to the mid-card, where he probably belonged.

If a bad attitude and resentment over his demotion has further lowered his stock in the company......tough rocks, Ryback.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

A random camera man that works for WWE could throw his camera into the pudget sound before a broadcast and people would still blame it on John Cena. While I don't work behind the scenes or anything, it is highly unlikely it is Cena's fault for the demise of Ryback. Do you want to know the real reason Ryback fell from grace? The Rock was scheduled for about 6 months to take the title from CM Punk at the Royal Rumble and it was a case of everything getting put on hold until then, which even included a chance for Ryback to take the gold. It's not Rock's fault, it's not Punk's fault, it's WWE's fault for booking something so long in advance that everything has to go on cruise control until then.

There are reports also that Ryback is a dick at fan meet and greets and if those are true, then I don't blame the WWE for getting pissed at him and haulting his push. The fact the IWC blames John Cena for every single wrestler that gets pushed and fails or doesn't get pushed is hilarious. Maybe stop for a minute to think about circumstances beyond Cena's so called "political power backstage". It can be any number of things from what I just mentioned with Ryback or, a shocking revelation I know, that the guys the IWC clamors for to be pushed just simply aren't as good as they make them out to be.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Other thing aside of things Sally and others mentioned is that his push was mishandled in some way. It was during Punks reign and we all know that he wouldnt beat Punk and that Rock was coming for Punk at Rumble. Cena was hurt one month and they needed someone fast so they "throw him to fire". Unfortunatly he burned too fast due to fact that he wasnt nearly ready in the ring or outside of it. WWE saw that he wasnt ready and depushed him and thats it. And judging by what he has done then and so far, it was good call overall...

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Ryback was NEVER OVER! Listen to the reactions to his entrances at Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series 2012 - almost total silence. A chant being over doesn't mean a performer is over (see: Fandango), and it was largely piped-in anyway. It sounded too similar every time, like the SmackDown seagull pop. WCW piped in Goldberg chants in 1998, so don't tell me WWE couldn't do it for Ryback in 2012.

Being sloppy as hell didn't help. He dropped Tensai TWICE on air, and roundly failed to hoist Heyman at a live event, the video of which was widely circulated online. He also got chewed out by CM Punk, the WWE Champion at the time, for a reckless gorilla press through a table. Don't imagine that heightened his standing backstage.

Ryback is a mediocre performer who was handed the keys to the world in 2012 (pay-per-view main events for the WWE title against Cena and Punk) for no reason other than his build, and utterly bombed. He made it painfully clear how good he is.

 

[Im4Ryback]

There is a lot of reasons why Ryback has been depushed.. He has been told numerous times that he is too stiff to work with,and basically has ignored such requests to improve.. He is too strong for his own good,he is just clumsy and awkward to work with.. His Mic Skills are not all that impressive,plus i believe it was during WM time,that he ignored media and radio interviews.

Plus rumors surfaced of him being an ass to fans and ignoring autograph request! Those reasons alone might be enough to de-push him! Ryback is a dime a dozen! As far as his home town goes,of course he is gonna get cheered. that has no reason why he isn't ascending to the top

I have heard reports that Ryback has been really nice to fans, I even heard it from some fans as well and when he is being interviewed he has been polite, he deserves a push and you guys know it he was over on last weeks raw and when they pushed him he was over good and as stated in the top post the only reason he was turned was because cena was more over than him he deserves another Babyface run. FEED ME MORE

 

[Terry Gyimah]

FEED ME MORE!!! FEED ME MORE!!! FEED ME MORE!!! Ryback becoming a babyface all over again here is hoping he could rise back up to the challenge and become a main eventer all over again because with a babyface run Ryback would be the perfect foil for The Authority just think about it

 

[Anti-IWC-Marks]

1. I agree some Anti-marks will find a way to blame him for the Kennedy Assassination if need be.

2. Ryback was an edgy, fresh, charismatic, high-energy guy.. A guy straight out of the Savage/Warrior days. It was great to see a true kickback, not someone trying to fit into culture, but just being INSANE.

3. Reports of being a dick are just that. There have been MANY huge dicks (.... i'm talking personalities) in the WWE over the years. It would be hard to get fired for being a dick if Scott Steiner was able to work for the company multiple times.

4. As far as Tensai and the missed Shellshocks, it looks like Tensai sandbagged him. I didn't see a whole lot of "jump" from Albert to aid the move. And just to clarify, that move needs help, because he's not picking up from the side into a fireman's carry, he's locking the position and rocking straight backward.. ten times more difficult.

5. There have been many clumsy, stiff wrestlers who have made the WWE what it is today: Warrior, Steiner, Lex Lugar, Goldberg, Bob Holly come to mind right off the bat.

6. Remember the "Goldberg" chants? I remember watching a RAW where he was clearly in the process of being demoted, and just out of nowhere performed a Jackhammer finishing move. It came out that doing so pissed off the WWE brass. Once the writing was on the wall, Ryback seemed to make sure he earned his on-coming demotion.

So why did Ryback get buried? Was it his attitude? His wrestling? Even something as simple as not being able to shake the "Goldberg" chants? We'll probably never know. Given that there have been some REALLY lame reasons given for why people have been fired over the years:

- Diamond Dallas Page was buried for not shaking the Undertaker's hand properly.
- Rhino was canned for a fight with his wife in a hotel lobby

Basically, you don't have to do much to get into the dog house.

Like many people on this thread, it seemed like they had something with Ryback. His constant run-ins with the Shield were symbiotic as it put him over as needing 3 guys to stop him, but also put the Shield over as undeniable.

And the real problem here is, nobody really filled Ryback's shoes. (Perhaps until now, but only slightly) Today, Ambrose might bring the intensity and the insanity, but he can't bring the imposing physical stature. Ryback's athleticism, demanor, energy, and bulk were clearly out of the norm, and thus, a good thing.

I haven't seen much close to Ryback's full package of intensity and athleticism since he was demoted.

 

[cmedge]

I loved Ryback then and I still do now, as for him being an ass I hope that he'll get out of the doghouse if I'm not mistaken Ryback's been pretty over lately. I hope after Rybaxel, Ryback gets a strong babyface push like he did in 2012/2013. I could easily see Ryback as a top guy.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

I loved Ryback then and I still do now, as for him being an ass I hope that he'll get out of the doghouse if I'm not mistaken Ryback's been pretty over lately. I hope after Rybaxel, Ryback gets a strong babyface push like he did in 2012/2013. I could easily see Ryback as a top guy.

I can too especially if they build him up to be the next face of the company because I too believe that Ryback has that potential considering the Goldberg comparisons and how Goldberg potentially became the face of WCW Ryback could be built up to become the new top guy of the company especially considering how over Ryback has become lately and if anything Curtis Axel is the one who is holding Ryback back when you think about it

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There are a few "rumors" as to why it happened this way for Ryback, but the main reason seems to be surliness on his part, with fans and in general. Guys like Cena and Bryan got where they did by engaging with fans totally and seeing media commitments as an opportunity. Several accounts say Ryback behaves the opposite at these kind of things, that they appear to be a chore to him and that he doesn't engage with the fans at all in some cases.

Add to that any flaws in his work in the ring, be it cos opponents sandbag him or injuring people and you have a problem... You only have to hurt someone once to make people wary of working with you... It happened to Ziggler after Barrett's injury and is the main reason Thwagger is seemingly working NXT newbies at the moment... even Kennedy suffered to the point where he was gone from the company cos Orton and Cena both seemingly said "Nope..."

Sadly even if it's an accident, the moment you hurt someone people look at you like "not sure I want to work with this guy" and if they don't have to, they won't... That's where Ryback has been for the last period of time, he hasn't really improved in the ring in that time so there isn't a "2nd chance" I can see for him at this stage. Even the Hogan era had "big guys" who were jobbers like Hercules, Akeem and the like... Ryback is basically that now for them.