The Big Guy has had several different attempts with various characters to achieve some real success in WWE. When he initially appeared on NXT it was as the fun-loving redneck Skip Sheffield. That gimmick had no life, and after a broken ankle required surgery and an extended layoff, he returned with the Ryback persona. A variation of a gimmick he was doing in Ohio Valley Wrestling, Ryback was brought in with a monster push, squashing local jobbers on a weekly basis, sometimes in handicap matches. The fans heckled him with Goldberg chants, and the comparisons were fair. Both were heavily muscled powerhouses who ran through undermatched opponents in quick bouts that hid their limitations. Ryback was inserted into the main event scene, challenging for the WWE title on several pay-per-views. The matches had little interest from fans and it wasn't long before he was shunted back down the card. Like his tag team partner Curtis Axel, he was made a Paul Heyman guy, and this worked better than it did for Axel. But once again, the partnership was severed with little in the way of explanation and now Ryback is mired in mid-card mediocrity. It looks doubtful that WWE will feed him more and he'll ever sniff the main event again.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
