Ryback turned heel on John Cena one night after WrestleMania 29, but a loss to Mark Henry following a stumbling 'Show Of Shows' scrap summed up how the company's hottest babyface had been destroyed by a hurricane of stubborn booking decisions that blew through others in the process.
'The Big Guy' and CM Punk had drawn impressively during a traditionally quiet time the prior October, but Vince McMahon's eyes were already on a different prize.
Punk required the title to get him to the Royal Rumble to lose to The Rock, whilst Ryback's first defeat in October kicked open the floodgates for more with the rise of The Shield and others able to score points at his expense. 'The Great One' and 'The Champ' couldn't recreate the magic at the box office second time around, but the 'Silverback' was well beaten long before Mark Henry left him looking at the lights.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
