saintpat
El Dandy
Release the hounds!!!
Posts: 7,664
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Post by saintpat on Feb 26, 2014 17:23:43 GMT -5
I'm sure there has been/will be some rewriting of history now that it's in the rear view mirror and he's no longer a hot commodity, but Ryback was, without question, way over less than 18 months ago.
"Feed Me More" chants were prevalent, close to as prevalent as "Yes!" chants are now, maybe even as prevalent. The fans at live events were gaga over him. Large segments of the "WWE Universe," including large segments of the IWC, wanted the promotion to "listen to the fans" and "give the people what they want."
I find this interesting in several ways. Ryback has, of course, cooled off, and everyone who wanted that to happen is, presumably, glad now that it did not. WWE created and fueled the Ryback interest and then put out its own fire. When people now want the same things for Bryan, I can see where Triple H/VKM/WWE might figure that this, too, will pass.
My questions are these:
Does anyone here really believe Ryback wasn't over? Should WWE believe that the love for Bryan now is more genuine? If so, why? And is it incorrect to conclude that WWE basically created the demand for Bryan -- starting with Cena picking him out as the worthy challenger and putting him over, followed by the Authority generating sympathy for him by keeping him down -- the same way it did for Ryback by cheating him of the title with Maddox's shenanigans and by booking him with a Goldberg-like push?
Again, I expect some short-term memory lapses and denial that Ryback was "really" over, but I'm not 100 percent sure there is a real difference between Ryback then and Bryan now.
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Post by TWERKIN' MAGGLE on Feb 26, 2014 17:24:24 GMT -5
Yes, he's much more over than Ryback was, and has remained more over for a longer period of time.
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Post by JTG Fan on Feb 26, 2014 17:27:35 GMT -5
Ryback was definitely over, but on a week to week basis crowd reactions to Ryback could vary. Some towns loved him and 'Feed Me More', others just wanted to chant 'Goldberg', and some others really didn't care about him much. The 'Yes Movement' is much stronger.
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Post by Amazing Kitsune on Feb 26, 2014 17:28:03 GMT -5
Make no mistake, at one point Ryback was over enough to be pushed into a permanent main-event spot. He go over--largely on his own--just like the WWE always says guys need to do. He took his opportunity and ran with it.
But that was for something like 4-6 months, perhaps less if I recall correctly. DB has been this over for two-ish years now.
Ryback was over. Ryback was over like Rover. DB seems to be over like Rover and Grover.
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Post by Savage Gambino on Feb 26, 2014 17:29:05 GMT -5
D-Bry is definitely more over than Ryback was. However, as talented as he is, a good part of that is that he's simply been allowed to build more momentum than Ryback did. Daniel Bryan got a clean pinfall victory over John Cena at a major PPV. Ryback didn't win a single PPV in about a year.
Call me deluded, but I really think Ryback could've gotten about as over as Bryan had if he'd been given the chance. Not exactly as over, I'd say, but goddamn close.
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Post by Magic knows Black Lives Matter on Feb 26, 2014 17:30:00 GMT -5
Ryback was over as a motherf***er in 2012, no doubt.
I think the big deal with Bryan is that this is basically the straw that breaks the camel's back. Fans have thrown their support behind a bunch of guys only to see them, for one reason or another, be thrown to the wayside and have their popularity die out. After years of having it happen, people are sick of it. There is a new generation of guys (Bryan, the Shield, Ziggler, etc.) that are just waiting to bust out and fans are DEMANDING that WWE stop bullshitting and put them at the forefront. The WWE Universe is making it clear. These are the guys we want to see and are willing to plop down our money for. Stop dragging your feet and give us what we want.
It also doesn't help that the alternatives to these new guys (Orton, Batista) are ice cold and stopped being golden eggs ages ago.
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Post by Old Jack Burton on Feb 26, 2014 17:30:11 GMT -5
Ryback recieved the Warrior push, and it is my guess the WWE was fearful he would be as one dimensional as champion. We now see that would not have been even close to the case, but hindsight is 20/20.
And let's not count the Big Guy out yet. He is good friends with Bryan, and post Wrestlemania WWE Champ Bryan will need something to hold him over til Summerslam. Ryback and Alexander Rusev will work well as believable challengers to legitimize the title reign.
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Pushed to the Moon
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Tony Schiavone in Disguise
Working myself into a shoot
Posts: 15,819 
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Post by Pushed to the Moon on Feb 26, 2014 17:30:56 GMT -5
No one chanted Ryback's name to hijack segments that had nothing to do with him. No one booed the hell out of WWE title matches or Royal Rumbles because Ryback wasn't involved. No one sarcastically chants for old WCW wrestlers during Bryan matches.
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Post by Ecks Ecks Ringout Ecks Ecks on Feb 26, 2014 17:31:10 GMT -5
Yes. Yes he is.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Feb 26, 2014 17:32:44 GMT -5
Yep.
Ryback had a few good weeks of being really over, but at no time did he ever approach the levels Bryan has been at for a year.
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Post by Apricots And A Pear Tree on Feb 26, 2014 17:34:17 GMT -5
No one sarcastically chants for old WCW wrestlers during Bryan matches. I might start chanting "DDP" if he keeps wearing tape. |
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shaker
Team Rocket
The numbers don't lie - and they spell disaster for you at Sacrifice!
Posts: 779
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Post by shaker on Feb 26, 2014 17:45:36 GMT -5
He was over without a doubt. But Bryan was more over than him before then, during Hell No, and especially now.
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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Feb 26, 2014 17:58:46 GMT -5
Ryback was over.
He wasn't over on the level that Bryan is. Crowds have hijacked numerous shows to show their like of Bryan, including this year's Rumble. Crowds have hijacked major shows to show their love for Bryan, that hasn't happened ever for Ryback.
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Post by DrBackflipsHoffman on Feb 26, 2014 18:04:10 GMT -5
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mizerable
Fry's dog Seymour
You're the lowest on the totem pole here, Alva. The lowest.
Posts: 23,475
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Post by mizerable on Feb 26, 2014 18:06:13 GMT -5
Ryback was very over.
Bryan is more over than that.
Both could have been far more interesting as champion as opposed to Randy Orton.
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Post by The Lex Espresso on Feb 26, 2014 18:32:26 GMT -5
I'm sure there has been/will be some rewriting of history now that it's in the rear view mirror and he's no longer a hot commodity, but Ryback was, without question, way over less than 18 months ago. "Feed Me More" chants were prevalent, close to as prevalent as "Yes!" chants are now, maybe even as prevalent. The fans at live events were gaga over him. Large segments of the "WWE Universe," including large segments of the IWC, wanted the promotion to "listen to the fans" and "give the people what they want." I find this interesting in several ways. Ryback has, of course, cooled off, and everyone who wanted that to happen is, presumably, glad now that it did not. WWE created and fueled the Ryback interest and then put out its own fire. When people now want the same things for Bryan, I can see where Triple H/VKM/WWE might figure that this, too, will pass. My questions are these: Does anyone here really believe Ryback wasn't over? Should WWE believe that the love for Bryan now is more genuine? If so, why? And is it incorrect to conclude that WWE basically created the demand for Bryan -- starting with Cena picking him out as the worthy challenger and putting him over, followed by the Authority generating sympathy for him by keeping him down -- the same way it did for Ryback by cheating him of the title with Maddox's shenanigans and by booking him with a Goldberg-like push?
Again, I expect some short-term memory lapses and denial that Ryback was "really" over, but I'm not 100 percent sure there is a real difference between Ryback then and Bryan now. Yes, I'd say it's incorrect to conclude that, as Bryan was extremely over practically right from the point he showed up on NXT, got eliminated dubiously, beat up Michael Cole repeatedly and then - crucially perhaps - didn't end up as part of the (also extremely over, mind) Nexus after "Tiegate". Weirdly, I only remembered Ryback was in Nexus just as I was about to hit 'post'... |
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Tony Schiavontay
Dennis Stamp
This is the greatest post in the history of this board!
Posts: 4,083
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Post by Tony Schiavontay on Feb 26, 2014 18:36:28 GMT -5
Make no mistake, at one point Ryback was over enough to be pushed into a permanent main-event spot. He go over--largely on his own--just like the WWE always says guys need to do. He took his opportunity and ran with it. But that was for something like 4-6 months, perhaps less if I recall correctly. DB has been this over for two-ish years now. Ryback was over. Ryback was over like Rover. DB seems to be over like Rover and Grover. Grover never got as over as Kermit of Fozzie did though. He was over but not that over. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 18:39:46 GMT -5
A lot of Ryback's gimmick revolve around him winning - which isn't a bad way to go at all, but it was pretty much destined to be short-lived unless WWE could leverage it into something more. Ryback's thing was all about being booked as a winner - as soon as he wasn't...well.
The other thing is, WWE made efforts to book both guys like crap for a little bit there. The fans stayed interested in Bryan and not in Ryback.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 18:41:15 GMT -5
Make no mistake, at one point Ryback was over enough to be pushed into a permanent main-event spot. He go over--largely on his own--just like the WWE always says guys need to do. He took his opportunity and ran with it. But that was for something like 4-6 months, perhaps less if I recall correctly. DB has been this over for two-ish years now. Ryback was over. Ryback was over like Rover. DB seems to be over like Rover and Grover. Grover never got as over as Kermit of Fozzie did though. He was over but not that over. In all fairness though Beaker did give Kermit a huge rub. |
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Post by sportatorium on Feb 26, 2014 19:28:51 GMT -5
They jobbed Bryan in 18 seconds, had him chant "no" to offset the crowds chanting yes when he was supposed to be a heel, put him in a comedy gimmick, a tweener "I'm not the weak link" thing that thankfully went away quickly, jobbed him to Randy Orton, moved him to a mid card feud with the Wyatt family, had him join the Wyatt family for 2 weeks, didn't put him in the royal rumble after he lost earlier on the PPV, have had him getting beaten up by the sitcom dad formerly known as Kane repeatedly on TV, and replaced him in a feud with the Big Show.
He has managed to remain the most over act on the card for a year.
Ryback was working with CM Punk, The Shield & Paul Heyman. Got cheated on 3 PPV's & watched the guys who cheated him continue to get cheers. Turned heel & jobbed to Cena & has steadily fallen down the card since. Even Paul Heyman as a manager couldn't salvage him.
Ryback's story is a typical wrestler who gets a good push, & doesn't stay over when that push isn't sustained. There are very few wrestlers who could take the booking Daniel Bryan has been given & still be the top babyface in the company (at least in the fans' eyes).
Not even close IMO.
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