Tough Enough History: Season Four Ryback, whose real name is Ryan Reeves, was a part of Tough Enough's fourth season. He was a pretty big guy when he was on the show from over a decade ago. He finished third place on the season and that impressed WWE officials enough that they signed him to a developmental deal in March 2005. He spent nearly five full years in and out of WWE's developmental system before finally catching on as part of The Nexus, but then an injury kept him out when that group started to take off. He was repackaged as Ryback following WrestleMania 28 in 2012 and has had a secure spot on WWE's roster ever since. Ryback has done pretty well for himself in WWE, going as far as main eventing several PPVs in the fall of 2012 against WWE Champion CM Punk. He fell short in his attempts at winning the WWE Title thanks to shady referee Brad Maddox and also the debut of The Shield. His heel turn post WrestleMania 29 in 2013 led to two WWE Title matches on PPV against John Cena, so at least he can say he feuded with top guys at various points of his career. Now 33 years old, Ryback has a shot at possibly becoming a main eventer again although it may be tough since WWE has a talented roster these days. Ryback is proof that you don't have to win Tough Enough to have a career in WWE. He took a very long road to get there, but where he is now is exactly what he wanted when that journey started in 2004.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
