As you are aware probably have no idea because no one on Earth cared (even this site didn’t post anything on it), WWE SuperStar and “guy who’s injured so many people it’s entirely possible he sometimes forgets wrestling is fake”, Ryback, has officially departed WWE. You may remember (no, you don’t) that several months ago, Ryback presented WWE with a masterful business plan where WWE would pay Jinder Mahal as much as John Cena. For some reason, WWE completely ignored his years of business and financial acumen and dismissed this proposal, even after Ryback professionally delivered and presented it via Tumblr.
Wrestling Inc. has an article on the subject here. There is a video included where Ryback wishes WWE the best of luck in their future endeavors, teases future projects, his new website, and says he will be wrestling a full schedule.
Let’s check out some of the comments.
The Harbinger: He was solid in the ring for his size and is pretty solid on the mic when he was allowed to showcase it.
BD: I’m sure I’ll address the first part of this in other comments, but I see these “when he was allowed to showcase it” comments a lot, and I’m not exactly sure what that means. Ryback has been in literally every corner of the WWE card from the main-event to the pre-show to developmental, so where would he have been “allowed” to showcase it if not literally anywhere on the card? It also implies that at some point he WAS allowed to showcase it, and I’d absolutely love to know when that was. I’ve been trying for years to get people to point me to ONE good Ryback match or promo.
Like, does Ryback have an incredibly technical moveset or a beautiful 720 Asai Moonsault that WWE has been depriving us of? If so, and if there’s video evidence of such a thing, I’ll be happy to start petitioning his return.
The Harbinger: I was never a fan, but it’s unfortunate that things ended like this. He was a part of the Nexus and played a role in The Shield’s debut. So it’s funny the way thinks work out.
BD: Well, I’m not sure what repeatedly losing to The Shield was supposed to get him (good God, can you imagine if Ryback had gone over The Shield?!) but do people really still consider Nexus a giant success that someone like Ryback somehow missed out on after all these years and how many of those guys turned out to be huge wastes of time?
Like, the Nexus was filled with such gems as Michael Tarver, Mason Ryan, David Otunga, Darren Young, Michael McGillicutty, Heath Sla… okay, you know what, it’s easier to just say the successes of the group rather than the failures:
- Daniel Bryan (… but not really, because he was out of the group after their first week.)
- Husky Harris (… but not really, because it’s not like the success of Bray Wyatt is tied to his time as Husky Harris.)
That is all.
Damien Demento: Making a video while driving is dumb as f*ck.
BD: Yeah, I forgot to mention that – this video of Ryback was taken while he’s driving. Anyone who’s seen his wrestling skills I’m pretty sure would advise against that.
Gail Rollins: His wrestling skills aside… anyone who stands up for themselves, and leaves on their own terms has my respect. Hope he’s successful in whatever he does next.
BD: All Ryback jokes aside, I actually can’t argue this point too much. As much as I’m glad I won’t have to watch him anymore, he actually probably will be pretty successful just based on the fame he achieved in WWE. He’ll have very little trouble booking indie dates, it’s not like it’s hard to be successful in TNA with a former WWE background (they gave a guy that won Tough Enough a World Title run) and I imagine the dude would actually be over in Japan.
Which is all fine, so good for him. It’s also fine because I won’t have to watch him in any of those capacities.
Good Ol’ Slobber Knocker: I might be one of a few, but I’m going to miss seeing Ryback on WWE TV. I honestly believe that he never got a real chance to run with the ball.
BD:
Like… didn’t Ryback have a massive babyface 4-month string of main events where he wrestled / crippled for real the WWE Champion and then a heel program with Cena for the title after that? I would say that’s a better chance than most guys get to “run with the ball”.
The problem occurred because those main event runs made people realize that he couldn’t, y’know, wrestle. That’s also probably part of the reason why people cheered a heel CM Punk against him, even though Punk hadn’t won a match cleanly in half a year.
Incidentially, I imagine Ryback would be about as good at running with an actual ball as he is at wrestling.
Tugster: The guy had a lot of potential and was super over before he started being booked terribly. His place on WM this year was a absolute joke and the guy deserved a lot better. Just like the other casualties like Cody, Sandow, etc he will clean up on the Indy scene and prove WWE has their heads wayyyy up their a$$
BD: Wrestling. The guy was super over before people saw him WRESTLING terribly. That’s probably what you meant to say.
Anyway, I was waiting for someone to draw the Cody / Sandow comparison. I’m surprised Wade Barrett wasn’t in there too.
Look, I’m no fan of the Cena era (it’s a large part of the reason I stopped watching the weekly TV), and it definitely did produce some undeserved casualties. Zack Ryder is one that comes to mind.
But, I’m sorry, Ryback is just not one of them. Neither is Cody.
At all.
Sandow, at least, you can make a BIT of a case for after the dumb MITB fiasco, but consider that Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have come up at the exact same time as Cody, Sandow and Ryback. Cody and Ryback in particular DID have upper or World Title programs, and the crowd just did not take to it. That’s not John Cena’s fault, Ryback was negative over by the time he got to Cena and Cody was NEVER involved with Cena that I can recall.
In addition, now we have guys coming up like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Balor, Joe, Nakamura, and the best Women’s roster WWE has ever had in it’s existence. So I really don’t think the departures of 3 guys who never clicked and never consistently got half the reactions that some of the guys I mentioned got on their first nights is going to prove anything about WWE creative and their efforts with Cody, Sandow and Ryback.
CJK5H: He “future endeavored” WWE before they could do it to him. That is subtle and brilliant.
BD: … and it took him, what, 4 months? To figure out someone is going to fire you, so you may as well quit? And what exactky is subtle about Tumblr-ing and YouTube-ing your dispute and departure?
EliminatorKane: Ryback is a great powerhouse, he’s good in the ring and he connected with the crowd, it’s a shame that he’s gone, I will miss him. I prefer Ryback than Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens…..
BD: Well, if I had to pick the type of fan who actually watched all the Zayn / Owens matches and preferred Ryback of all people, it would definitely be someone who had Kane’s name and picture in their Disqus profile. I’m guessing you couldn’t find a good picture of Mark Henry or The Great Khali?
lWo4life: Not sure why people have the necessity to hate on this guy going out on his own terms.
He’s got the right to provide for himself and his family…
BD: Most of anti-Ryback comments I’ve seen are people being glad he’s gone or laughing at his silliness. I’ve yet to see a comment saying his family should starve.
Wesley Pipes: Not the biggest Ryback fan, but I think they really could’ve had a potential star when he was mowing people over. Then creative panicked when CM Punk had no opponent. Ryback was in a lose lose situation. Either end Punks reign while he was pretty over and have the fans turn on you, or lose to Punk and lose your momentum.
BD: I definitely like to try and see both sides of any situation, and this is where I will admit – in Ryback’s defence – even if he WAS talented – yeah, this booking would have killed him dead regardless.
But he’s not talented, which is why I never cared.
The thing is, if Ryback were actually talented, the crowd would have never given up on him in spite of the booking. The crowd didn’t turn on him because of booking, the crowd turned on him because WHEN he went from squashing jobbers straight to the top, they got a chance to see him in something other than a squash match, and he actually had to start talking.
And he sucked.
And he never got better.
Anyone who is REALLY truly over with the crowd, they typically don’t give up on him in spite of booking. I’m not saying it never happens, but I think it’s pretty rare. Look and Bryan or Punk, before they hit it big, they did a lot of really silly stuff and the crowd never gave up on them. Fuck, people still get into Zack Ryder after all this time and it’s not like WWE hasn’t booked him into the event horizon of a black hole for the past 4 years.
Win, Owens Win: Oh I assure you, he’ll be back. Good to see he will most likely get to keep his Ryback name. He’s going to go be a star in TNA and, in all honestly, i’ll tune in and watch. I honestly think he can change that place
BD: I’ve not kept up with TNA much, so I don’t know how shitty a show has to be that RYBACK of all people could turn it around, so let’s ask an actual TNA fan.
Wexcaliber: Stay away from TNA you hack! Their show has been really good this year, we don’t need you to bring it down now.
Kyle: He reminded me of a less douche Mike Awesome. Big guy, not a great talker, helluva worker, and broke the big man mold.
BD: Yeah, because before Ryback, they were all about pushing small, skinny guys like John Cena, HHH and Batista. I’m just going to end on this request, which I’ve made dozens of times. Someone show me ONE match where Ryback is a “helluva worker”. Just ONE good match. Or promo. Seriously. Anything.
That’s it for this week. If you’d like to FEED ME MORE comments, put them below.
See you when I see you.
BD
