7 Things That Ruined Ryback's WWE Push

By Alexander Podgorski /

6. Working Stiff

It was often believed that Ryback was working stiff, particularly when he would kick, use forearm smashes, or his signature Meat Hook. However, this isn€™t anything new; Hardcore Holly mentioned that many top guys, including HBL, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle, all stiffed him. While Bob Holly in particular had no problem with this, due to the fact that he is incredibly tough, the same cannot be said for others in today€™s WWE locker room. It is possible that one of his opponents complained to WWE management that Ryback was being too rough with his opponents, and someone in WWE€™s top brass interpreted that stiffness as sloppiness. And if there€™s one thing that the WWE absolutely cannot have, it€™s someone being sloppy in the ring, considering that these Superstars are putting each their health and well-being in each other€™s hands. So for Ryback, it seemed that it was too much of a risk to take. Despite Vince wanting to push Ryback to the moon as a true top guy, he couldn€™t put his faith in a guy who risked hurting one of his employees in a serious way. Ryback should€™ve simply been more careful in the ring, and maybe, just maybe, the loss of his push would never have happened. But of course, working stiff in the ring pales in comparison to other factors that ended Ryback€™s push, such as€