10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Jan 20)
6. Ryback Didn't Want To Turn Heel On Kalisto
Recently on SmackDown Live, Baron Corbin was cast as a bully who targeted Kalisto. This had been done before, only with Ryback playing the same role as Corbin. It seems WWE really love the idea of Kalisto as an underdog, understandable given his smaller stature and high-flying nature.
Granting an interview to Ring Rust Radio, Ryback said during the chat that he was never on board with the idea to turn him heel before WrestleMania 32. A rekindling of his bully boy character from 2014, the alignment change was Ryback's last before departing WWE months later.
According to Ryback, Vince McMahon didn't even watch his match on the monitor backstage, leaving the wrestler depressed. At WrestleMania, WWE's biggest show of the year and a huge moment for any performer, Ryback left the building thinking that his job "sucked".
Unable to comprehend why the boss had decided to turn him heel and then show little interest in his work, Ryback decided he wanted out of the promotion sooner rather than later.