10 Times WWE Dropped The Ball With Ryback

8. Not Winning The Andre The Giant Battle Royal

Ryback working out
WWE.com

By this point, I think it's safe to say that winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal essentially means nothing seeing as how the first two victors failed to benefit (the jury is still out on Baron Corbin). But in 2015, WWE had a golden opportunity to make a star out of whoever won it, and Ryback was the strongest candidate.

Yes, Damien Sandow was the fan favorite to win that year, but regardless of whether he came out on top or not, it was apparent WWE had no plans for him beyond his feud with The Miz. Just look at where he is now. With Ryback, this could have been his chance to get his career back on track and establish himself as a force to be reckoned with in WWE, while scoring his first WrestleMania win in the process.

Ryback was a prominently featured participant in the Battle Royal in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, yet he wasn't even able to survive until the final three. Big Show went on to win the bout instead, and although WWE touted it as his "WrestleMania moment," he was largely absent from programming following the victory.

Given Ryback was actually around after WrestleMania, a win could have done much more for him than it did for The World's Largest Athlete.

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Contributor
Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.