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| Feed him more... character? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
When he re-debuted as Ryback after Mania last year, it looked as if he'd go the silent destroyer route. The only words he'd say with any regularity or volume were "Feed me more." Those words became his catchphrase, and he rode it to the main event in an injured John Cena's stead. Obviously, when you go up against CM Punk, the only person who needs to talk is the man known for turning microphones into pipe bombs. However, against the better judgment of many people at the time, WWE let him talk, which to me, was a proof that maybe "many people's" better judgment is still not good. I thought he was fine in his first couple of promos, and he kept building on them, and building on them, and even after he turned heel three weeks ago, building on them.
Silent terminator Ryback, to many, would seem like the best option as a villain, but let's face it. WWE doesn't really do silent villains all that well. Even the ones that don't talk have mouthpieces. Vince McMahon and most other promoters in the wrestling world come from the James Bond school of nefarious characters. What good is a bad guy if he doesn't give several verbal paragraphs of exposition on why, how, and when his evil schemes would unfold? Not two weeks into his run as a bad guy, Ryback gave that Bond villain speech, and it was amazing.
It's hard to call a guy who has been pushed like Ryback has as "under the radar," and honestly, I think he's done well for himself despite the absolute artificial nature of his push. He's a guy that WWE force-fed its audience, but the audience has seemed to take to him. But even so, how much commentary is given to the things he says, his promo oeuvre? Over the last few months, it's been astonishing how fully-formed a character he's become despite the exterior dominating the conversation around him. He has motivations. He thinks and feels. There is more at play here than the typical big guy character that WWE normally puts out. Either they are doing something different with Ryback or he's doing something different on his own (or there's some combination of the two at play here). Whatever it is, I think it's working.
There's a message here about not judging a book by its cover, but I think that's a bit trite to note every time someone breaks out of a mold they seem to be destined conform to. In this case though, Ryback, just as he broke the "Goldberg comparison" mold, continues to show that when it comes to charisma expressed verbally, maybe it's more universal than to be typecast as "serious" or "comedic." Or maybe WWE is just doing a better job at picking out its hosses, so that the Mason Ryans and Heidenreichs of the world are no longer welcome as long as the Rybacks, Sheamuses, and Big E Langstons continue to prove they have it down. Ryback, especially, has come along and become one of WWE's surest and most reliable story players in such a short time. I don't know what the consensus is about him, but I know I'm impressed. I just hope that he's not just an "impressive" first sacrifice to the altar John Cena's lucky #13 top title reign in WWE. He can be so much more.