Up until this match, Ryback was undefeated, and was being considered a top star in WWE. Some people actually thought he had a chance of winning the WWE title, but more people were concerned about how to make this match work. Punk was going through his record-length title reign, having gone through several other challengers. When John Cena ceded his title match to Ryback, there was one guarantee: someone was going to lose, in more ways than one. To try and protect both guys momentum as much as possible, at the Hell In A Cell Pay-Per-View, referee Brad Maddox gave Ryback a low blow, allowing Punk to retain in a cheap fashion. Though it sort of protected both men from truly losing, it marked the big turn for the worse for Ryback. He lost cleanly by submission to CM Punk the following night, and soon his relationship with Paul Heyman, the man who had led him to the main event match, was also over. It just seemed that WWE was in a lose-lose situation with that match at Hell in a Cell 2012. Ryback had all the momentum in the world, and this sudden and rather poor loss really hurt him. Had he actually won the match and the title, it wouldve been truly surprising and fresh to see. Moreover, it wouldnt have really hurt CM Punks reign as WWE Champion, as it was already stellar by that point anyway.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
