Ryback says iconic 2014 WWE moment was originally meant for him
Ryback recently recalled how WWE's creative team originally wanted him to be the sole survivor in the five-on-five elimination match at Survivor Series 2014.
The Big Guy joined forces with The Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and John Cena in the main event. The babyfaces defeated Team Authority (Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Seth Rollins), costing Stephanie McMahon and Triple H their jobs as authority figures.
Ziggler pinned Rollins at the end of the 43-minute match following a surprise appearance from the debuting Sting. In his latest Ryback TV video, the former Intercontinental Champion said that he was supposed to win the match for Cena's team instead of The Showoff:
"If you remember, this is where Sting came back and Dolph Ziggler had the great showing that was originally designed for me on this, and that would have aligned with the push and the coming back," Ryback said. "But things were going too good once again, and WWE and Vince McMahon were gonna make sure that they cooled things off, and they did just that with this match once again." [2:20 – 2:39]
The 41-year-old only lasted seven minutes before being eliminated by Rusev. Almost a decade on, the match is widely regarded as one of the best Survivor Series elimination matches of all time.
How Vince McMahon reacted to Ryback's return
Shortly before Survivor Series 2014, the former Nexus member defeated Bo Dallas in his return match on RAW after a two-month absence from television. He also turned babyface after an 18-month run as a bad guy.
According to Ryback, WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon was surprised that the San Antonio crowd reacted so positively during his entrance:
"The match went as planned and when I got to the back, I was told that Vince McMahon was shocked that people still cheered for me and cheered for me at the level that they did despite all that WWE had done to me over that time, the last seven or eight months." [1:05 – 1:20]
Before returning as a bad guy, the former WWE Superstar had been tag team partners with Curtis Axel for almost a year. He refers to that time of his career as a "punishment period," as WWE's higher-ups suddenly stopped his main-event singles push without giving an explanation.
Do you think The Big Guy should have been the sole survivor at Survivor Series 2014? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Ryback TV and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.