4 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown (Mar 12)

By John Canton /

3. Ryback Is Back To Being A Major Threat

The person with the best chance of winning the battle royal at WrestleMania is Ryback. WWE has done a good job of building him back up to being a credible babyface performer after he failed as a heel. His match with The Miz was not a classic by any means. However, it did exactly what it needed to do because when it was over the viewers at home got a sense that Ryback is on a roll. It felt like a divas match because it was over in about four minutes. Ryback won clean with a Meat Hook Clothesline and then the Shellshock ended it rather easily. Think of how a guy like Bad News Barrett is booked as IC Champ. He loses nearly every week. Fans don't buy into him at all. Ryback is presented as a guy with a lot of momentum on his side. That will go a long way in causing fans to cheer for him at WrestleMania because he's got a legitimate shot to win the battle royal. As for Miz, he's fine as a midcard heel act. It feels weird that he main evented WrestleMania four years ago, but he did.