wrestling / Columns

The Piledriver Report 10.06.12: The Rise of Ryback

October 6, 2012 | Posted by RSarnecky

Before I begin this week’s column, I just wanted to thank those who posted comments on last week’s article. I was having a rough day, on Monday, when I looked up my past article to view the feedback. It was at this time that I saw a huge mistake that was made in my article. When talking about being impressed with Daniel Bryan’s recent work in the skits and promos that he was involved in, I wrote “shits and promos” instead. Instead of getting killed in the Comments for my error, there were several humorous comments that pointed out my mistake. I was laughing so hard at some of the comments that my mood was turned right around. Thank you for my laugh, and I am glad I was able to provide you all with some unintentional comedy as well.

GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG!

“Goldberg! Goldberg! Goldberg!” In 1997 and 1998, Bill Goldberg rose to popularity in World Championship Wrestling as he was in the middle of one of the most famous “undefeated” streaks in wrestling history. After counting on former WWF superstars, like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash to help turn the tide in WCW’s war against the World Wrestling Federation, Bill Goldberg was WCW’s home grown star that would continue WCW’s dominance over the WWF. Despite being WCW’s answer to the WWF’s ultra-popular “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the booking inside of WCW helped to weaken Goldberg’s popularity and drawing power to the point where Goldberg made no difference in the Monday Night War. From that point, the WWF’s machine would not be stopped, and the war was all but over.

Fast forward fifteen years later, and the “Goldberg” chant can once again be heard throughout the crowds. This time, the fans making the noise are attending a WWE event, and the chants aren’t for Bill Goldberg. Instead, they are mock chants for the monstrous wrestler named Ryback.

TO BE A FAN FAVORITE, OR NOT TO BE A FAN FAVORITE? THAT IS THE QUESTION

In early 2010, Skip Sheffield made his WWE debut as part of the rookie crop that were featured in the WWE’s new program “NXT.” On August 18th of that year, Sheffield broke his ankle in a tag team match with David Otunga against the Hart Dynasty. At the time, Skip was a heel member of the Nexus faction. However, that would soon change.

Skip Sheffield returned to television following the recovery from his ankle injury on April 6th. However, this was a totally different Skip Sheffield. Instead, he returned as his Ohio Valley Wrestling alter-ego named Ryback. Ryback would compete in a series of jobber handicapped matches where he would destroy enhancement wrestlers, and chant “feed me more.” Ryback’s huge physique, stiff workrate, and undefeated streak where he plowed through the competition reminded fans of Bill Goldberg. Fans at arenas across the country started to chant “Goldberg!” during Ryback’s matches.

While it is great that he is getting a reaction, I am not sure if the “Goldberg!” chants are a tribute to arguably WCW’s most popular homegrown wrestler, or are they mocking the WWE for their attempt at creating their own version of Goldberg. It’s obvious that Ryback is a fan favorite as he gets cheered, and the fans chant his “Feed Me More” catchphrase. At the same time, the “Goldberg!” chants are still ringing throughout the arena. My guess is that most fans like Ryback. However, a core group of diehard fans, see Ryback as a Goldberg wannabe, and let him (and the WWE) know about it.

THE PUSH

Recently, the WWE has started to push Ryback above his squash matches. He started to have, what appeared to be the start of a feud with the WWE Intercontinental champion The Miz. However, after a non-title victory on RAW against The Miz, it appears that the WWE is moving Ryback on to bigger and better things.

That bigger and better thing would be an apparent feud with the current WWE World champion CM Punk. Over the last two weeks, Punk and Ryback have had mini-stare downs with each other. With John Cena being questionable to return from his injury in time for the Hell in a Cell pay per view, the WWE needs to line up a replacement wrestler “just in case” Cena can’t make the show. It appears that Ryback could be that replacement.

If Ryback does get the title shot at Hell in a Cell, the question will be “should the WWE pull the trigger on Ryback and put the belt on the former Skip Sheffield?” There are both positives and negatives in putting the strap on Ryback. If CM Punk lost the belt to Ryback, there is a possibility the victory would put over Ryback in a huge way. After all, CM Punk has held the belt for over 300 days. He has taken on and beaten everybody that was thrown in front of his path. A victory by Ryback would make him an instant main eventer. He would have done something that Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena haven’t been able to do this year. That would be to beat Punk in a WWE World title match. A title victory over Punk could have the same effect that Goldberg’s victory against Hulk Hogan had in WCW over fourteen years ago.

The WWE has been having internal talks about finding the company’s next top guy. Ryback seems to fit most of the WWE’s parameters for a main eventer. He’s over six feet tall, has a killer physique, and at 30 years old, he still has plenty of prime years left on the clock. Ryback could be what the company is looking for.

The negative is that it is too soon to give Ryback a shot with the belt. Right now, he is way too “green.” Every time I see him stiff the heel out of a wrestler, it looks like he is going to seriously injure the guy. Should Ryback be the WWE World champion, he would have to face the top wrestlers in the company. The WWE’s main event talent depth is light as it is. Does the WWE really want to risk having a reckless wrestler in the ring with their top talent? If he injures one of the WWE’s “money makers,” the WWE could really be hurting. It’s one thing to have Ryback hurting jobbers, but do you really want to risk him in the ring against CM Punk and John Cena at this point in his career?

Right now, the WWE has been getting really good World title matches from CM Punk. If you insert Ryback into the match instead of Punk, odds are pretty good that your World title match would be a bad to average match that would last no more than ten minutes. Chances are that fans would start to turn on Ryback, especially the diehard fans. After all, who would want to see eight minute matches with horrible workrates when you could witness a twenty-five minute masterpiece with the likes of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, and yes even John Cena?

THE FUTURE NEXT BIG THING

After a couple more years of seasoning, perhaps Ryback would acquire the skills to become a legitimate World champion. However, if he doesn’t improve, I don’t think Ryback will work as a WWE World champion. The second that Ryback loses, he loses his aura. Right now, Ryback is a one trick pony. He is an ass kicker that steamrolls over the competition. The first time he loses a match, he will no longer be seen as invincible. That invincibility is currently making him a legitimate upper tier competitor, despite his raw skills at the moment. If the WWE takes things slowly, Ryback could become the “next big thing.” If they rush Ryback to the top, he will be just another wannabe in a long line of would of, could of, should ofs. What will Ryback turn out to be? Only time will tell.

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