One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY WWE WrestleMania

13. WrestleMania 29 | The Abandoned WrestleMania Moment Idea

CM Punk Ryback
WWE

Ryback was a draw. 

Pushed with real conviction by the standards of the time - this was the exhausting 50/50 booking era - his pay-per-view main event against CM Punk at Hell In A Cell 2012 drew 207,000 buys. He equalled the number generated by John Cena the month prior, beat Elimination Chamber’s buy amount (194,000) and narrowly defeated a big five event (Money In The Bank, 206,000). 

As a result, WWE had someone big in mind for him at WrestleMania: the, erm, Big Show. To create a viral ‘WrestleMania Moment’, the idea was for Ryback to do his stomping around spot before hitting his Shell Shock finish. WWE did do this, but with two small tweaks.

Firstly, they subbed Big Show for Mark Henry. That was weirdly less effective, in that lifting Mark Henry up is insanely impressive, but Big Show is closer to Andre the Giant - slamming whom, our wrestling brains are programmed to believe, is some impossible feat. Secondly, WWE had Ryback lose, even though he was scheduled to wrestle John Cena on the next two pay-per-views. What?

At the time, this scanned as another braindead, counterproductive Vince McMahon decision, and while it was, given everything we’ve learned about the man in the years since, can you imagine spending any length of time in Ryback’s presence? Isn’t it very easy to understand why Vince or other higher-ups might have lost his sh*t with the guy, even against all reason? 

Ryback was an entitled guy who thought he was a megastar. He was also - by his own admission, if you believe the words of CM Punk - “dumb as f*ck”. If Cody Rhodes is to be believed, Ryback thought James Cameron named it Terminator 2 because there were two Terminators in it. Maybe when Vince said “you’ll be carrying Show on your shoulders”, Ryback scoffed he’d been doing that all year, and he got buried. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!