http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7pYHYThxgc Ryan Reeves had been hovering around the WWE for years, firstly as part of Tough Enough, and then as the Nexus member Skip Sheffield. Sheffield, despite having a rather silly name, was a tough intense cowboy. It wasnt a gimmick that would fire him to the top, but it was believable and had a fairly long shelf life. Indeed, as part of Nexus, Reeves headlined SummerSlam 2010. He then broke his leg and was out of action for several months. Upon his return, he reverted to a character which he had portrayed in WWE developmental: Ryback. While in OVW, Ryback had been a machine-like monster, who no-sold offence and looked invincible. This version of Ryback wasnt portrayed as a machine, but certainly looked invincible, running over people in short squash matches, reminiscent of Goldberg in WCW. His catchphrase of Feed me more started catching on like wildfire. Ryback was the new next big thing. Until, that is, the WWE booked themselves into a corner. At Hell in a Cell in October 2012, the still undefeated Ryback faced CM Punk for the WWE Championship. The feud didnt warrant a Cell match, but that was the name of the PPV and a Cell match it was. The WWE didnt want Punk to lose the title as they had already planned for Punk to drop the belt to The Rock at the Royal Rumble in January. But they didnt want Ryback to lose. And the whole concept of Hell in a Cell was that nobody could interfere. In the end, rookie referee Brad Maddox gave Ryback a low blow which enabled Punk to pin him and retain the title, and in that very moment, the magic was gone. All of Rybacks momentum was whisked away in quite literally a single blow. Despite trying to keep him in the headline matches, the WWE Universe lost interest in Ryback rapidly. He was no longer undefeated or invincible. His program with Punk was derailed when Punk was ruled out of action with a knee injury. Ryback never hit the same heights again. He slipped down the card, losing frequently, and is currently in an uninspiring tag team with Curtis Axel which is going nowhere. Midcard obscurity now seems to be the foreseeable future for Ryback.
Dean Ayass is a well known name to British wrestling fans. A commentator, manager, booker and ring announcer who has been involved in the business since 1993, Dean's insight into the business is second to none.