To realize just how misused Ryback truly is, one must look no further than his recent showdowns with Sheamus in both the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal at Battleground and in subsequent Six-Man Tag Team bouts and the reaction those standoffs received. The fans still buy Ryback as a guy that can stand up to and hang with top stars, largely due to the fact that Ryback still carries himself as a main event guy. He walks through the curtain and has this headliner aura around him that makes people sit up and take note. It is almost as if someone forget to tell him that he is much further down the card than he was at the peak of his popularity in 2012. It is that redeeming quality that may make it far easier for him to bounce back from the dismal last year. Ryback suffered tremendously from detrimental booking. After a one-sided feud with John Cena derailed his heel turn, he was part of several backstage vignettes in which he bullied and harassed WWE personnel. From there, he went on to become a Paul Heyman guy and feud with CM Punk. It was during that period that he was so horribly mishandled that any chance he had of achieving sustained momentum was gone and he fell rapidly down the ladder. His partnership with the black hole of charisma Curtis Axel did him no favors.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
