Steve Carrier on April 22, 2018
Ryback opens today’s show by speaking about HBO’s Andre the Giant documentary. He points out that his first wrestling memory was going to a WWE show when he was 4 or 5 years old, and all he can remember is Hulk Hogan’s yellow trucks and Andre’s black singlet. Ryback hasn’t seen the film yet but he plans on watching it because he’s heard good things about it so far.
He adds that Andre’s health condition made life quite difficult for him, and it’d be impossible for us to understand the daily struggles he must have went through.
Ryback sends congratulations out to the multiple NXT Superstars who made their debut on WWE programming this past week. He points out that this is what all those talents have been working for and it’s very tough to reach that level, so he wishes them all the best of luck moving forward. He adds that what works in NXT doesn’t always work on the main roster.
The No Way Jose character reminded him a lot of Adam Rose and that’s concerning, but it also doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it a chance. The only thing that will determine whether these talents can succeed is time, and if WWE presents them in good situations, they’ll have a chance to succeed.
He wishes Ember Moon would change her finishing move. He points out that “ass bumps” are very dangerous and are terrible for your back. Ryback used to perform a backpack stunner move and he blames his back issues on that move. He wishes someone backstage in WWE would warn Ember Moon of the potential issues that a move like that can lead to down the road.
Ryback says WWE has always had talented female performers, and the only thing that’s changed lately is the fact that WWE is featuring them in better positions. He believes they’re doing this now because they can make money with powerful women such as Ronda Rousey. Regardless of their reasoning, he likes the fact that women are being presented in this fashion, and he was very happy to see Paige announced as the Smackdown GM this week.
He adds that he feels bad for Paige that her in-ring career appears to be over, and he’s concerned for her physical well-being in the future. If Paige leaves WWE and these injuries start to cause her trouble 10 years from now, all the financial hardship will fall on her shoulders. He goes on to say that he believes WWE should implement some form of an offseason for talents to recoup and recover form injuries, but WWE doesn’t appear to be receptive to that idea.
He points out that when you’re working as a WWE Superstar you get caught up in that life and start putting your health in the background. There’s also a fear of being replaced if you take time off to recover from injuries, and the development of young performers in NXT has really amplified that fear.
Ryback believes Paige should explore all her health options while she’s still under contract with WWE to ensure that she receives the best medical attention. This should help her stay ahead of the curve and ensure that her neck injury doesn’t result in more issues down the line.
Speaking about Nicholas’ Tag Team Title win at WrestleMania, Ryback says he can understand the criticism that this angle garnered, but he didn’t have a problem with it. He thought this was entertainment at it’s finest and the crowd seemed to be really into it which is the ultimate test.
Ryback mentions that he’s looking forward to the upcoming Miz/Daniel Bryan storyline. He notes that these two have been the perfect pairing from day one of NXT several years ago. He adds that there’s a built-in storyline here, and it’s great for Bryan to be able to come back with a great storyline like this right away.
Ryback doesn’t understand WWE’s booking of Rusev lately. He points out that Rusev has a fun personality and fans seem to gravitate to him. He doesn’t think fans are going to let this go, and he thinks they’ll fight for Rusev like they did a couple of years ago for Daniel Bryan. He knows that WWE might have certain plans in mind for Rusev, but when fans organically gravitate to a certain performer like this, he wonders why WWE wouldn’t change their plans in order to make the most money possible.
He adds that from what he’s been told, WWE doesn’t want any more marquee names after John Cena. With that in mind, the way WWE books their talents makes sense. It seems like sometimes when a performer is about to take off and become a huge star WWE takes their momentum away, preventing them from becoming a huge marquee name.
Ryback comments on John Cena and Nikki Bella’s breakup. He hopes that they can remain friends and be professional about this because not all relationships are meant to last forever. He also hopes they can appreciate the time they spent together and move on, adding that people should respect their privacy at this time.
A listener writes into the show and asks Ryback what he thinks about Becky Lynch. He informs that he likes Lynch a lot, adding that he talked to her a little bit when she first came up to the main roster but he was on his way out of the company at that time. He admits that he was “shutting down” during his last couple of months in the company, even though he still got along with everyone there.
That sums up today’s episode of Conversation With the Big Guy. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
April 22, 2018 4:45 pm
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