WWE: Evolution of Ryback – A mistake or a miscalculation?

In professional wrestling, often times, when a superstar is slated to make a name for him/herself, they are given a good gimmick and a tremendous debut. After all, the first impression has a lot of significance for a superstar. The fans remember the first time they lay their eyes on a guy, and if they don’t think he is legitimately tough, or he isn’t ‘superstar’ material, they don’t buy him, no matter how hard the creative or the management tries. You can take the examples of Brodus Clay and Tensai, who have become a joke now, in the literal sense. Hence, when a booker or a promoter wants to build a superstar, they give him a gimmick that results in them decimating their opponents. Guys like Tatanka, Sheamus, Umaga, etc had impressive debuts and undefeated streaks.

A few months ago, WWE wanted to create another such superstar who could captivate the fans by his strength and his ability to dominate his opponents. Initially, Vince McMahon was impressed by the physique of the then Skip Sheffield from Nexus, and wanted him to be the breakout star of the group. But unfortunately, Skip suffered a serious injury and was sidelined for over a year. When he returned, Vince took him under his wing, as his pet project, and gave him the gimmick of Ryback, a Terminator – esque character from the future. When Vince and the management decided to bring him to the main roster, there was a lot of buzz around Ryback, especially since Vince wanted to make him the face of the company.

This is where things get interesting. When Ryback debuted, it was painfully obvious to the fans that he was being molded into a guy who, perhaps, had the most dominant career in professional wrestling. There was one man in WCW who captivated the fans like no one else. He wasn’t just a monster; he was built as the most indestructible force in the company. When Eric Bischoff wanted a poster child for WCW, he had one man in mind who completely dominated the scene, and became the biggest attraction in WCW. Wherever fans went, they chanted only one name. He was perhaps the best built superstar in the history of the industry. There are very few fans who don’t know his name, and he also had one of the most impressive undefeated streaks in the business, if not the most impressive. His name? Bill Goldberg.

When Ryback debuted, he started picking up victories over local talents. And this went on for months before he was finally given a proper storyline. Now, fast forward after some months, and Ryback has lost a lot of matches. Besides, no one takes him seriously anymore. No one believes that Ryback will win the WWE title anytime soon. So, how did it all go wrong? For months, he was built up as an unstoppable monster, defeating 3 guys at a time! The answer to that is WWE’s greed. They could have built a money making machine in Ryback. After all, he is somewhat similar to Batista, who became a huge success in the company. So what happened? The answer is simple – WWE initially pushed him too fast, and then gave up on him.

This is where Bischoff was a genius. He did not push Goldberg to the moon overnight. He built up Goldberg, as he defeated legitimate superstars instead of local talent, and then won a mid card title. Through all of his, he was still undefeated, and slowly got over with the fans and became a main eventer. With Ryback, his first feud was against the WWE champion, CM Punk, for the title. Although the crowd cheered for Ryback, it was mostly because of how good a heel Punk was. The mistake Vince did was he made Ryback lose too soon. This halted whatever momentum Ryback had, and this was the first major difference between how Goldberg was built, and how Ryback was pushed too soon.

The major problem with WWE is, they do not let a storyline play out. It takes a course of time for any story to be built, but WWE prefers building superstars overnight, and dropping them if they don’t get over. With Ryback, not only did they push him too soon, but they started making him lose, which isn’t how a monster is supposed to be built. Very few remember the debut of Sheamus on RAW and how he was pushed, and that is exactly what should have happened with Ryback. So, is it a mistake on WWE’s part to choose someone who was very green to begin with? Or did they miscalculate Ryback’s stock and push him too soon for his own good? The answer is both. Ryback needs a manager, as his mic skills are below par. He can still be built as a dominant monster, provided the management gives him time to get over with the fans. Do I see him winning the WWE title anytime soon? No, but that doesn’t mean they drop the ball with Ryback. As a face, he was getting over with the fans, but they turned him too soon once again. One can only feel bad for him, and hope the WWE management builds him properly before giving up on him completely.