With the recent news of HHH’s in-ring retirement, tributes came in from all over the world, with his fellow wrestlers praising his work and what he meant to them and the business. One former co-worker wasn’t so kind. Ex WWE superstar Ryback took to Twitter to say, “You ended up being the biggest disappointment for me personally from loving you growing up, but I wish you well in retirement and future good health.”
Sadly, it wasn’t surprising to see. It’s just the latest bitter remarks from a man who the business and fans have come to hate.
Ryback Was Once One Of The Biggest Acts In WWE
Ryback was part of one of the biggest moments in recent wrestling history as a member of Nexus. In 2010, they shocked the world with their terrorizing Raw debut. In a faction that included Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan, however, Ryback didn’t get much attention. Worse, he wasn’t even Ryback yet but was stuck with the moniker of Skip Sheffield. He had the look and the potential, but he hadn’t received the right gimmick to make it all work.
That changed in 2012. After disappearing for over a year due to a broken ankle, he came back repackaged as Ryback, a play on his first name Ryan and his similar build to a silverback gorilla. Ryback became a fan favorite with his “Feed me more!” catchphrase, an impressive Shell Shock finisher, and an undefeated streak. He reminded fans of Goldberg. When his time with WWE ended in 2016, he had become a one-time Intercontinental Champion, but a Hell in a Cell match with CM Punk was as close as he ever came to the pinnacle.
Fans And Colleagues Did Not Speak Kindly of Ryback
As popular as Ryback was amongst casual fans, he was also widely disliked. Many fans mocked him with “Goldberg” and “You can’t wrestle” chants. Readers of Wrestling Observer Newsletter named him the Most Overrated Wrestler of 2012.
Some of his co-workers weren’t any kinder. CM Punk has referred to Ryback as a “steroid guy” and accused him of purposely breaking his ribs and taking twenty years off of his life. Mark Henry called Ryback “difficult” and “dangerous.”
It should be noted that not all of his co-workers felt this way about Ryback. Chris Jericho spoke out against his supposed unsafe work ethic, saying, “Having worked with [him], I've never seen those types of things...it was always fun.” Former producer Arn Anderson has said, “He was always very, very easy to work with.”
Ryback has never been able to let go of the negative, though. The criticism of his talent or lack thereof, the allegations of his unsafe work, the mocking chants, and the main event potential that never quite came to be, have all appeared to feed into an insecurity that gets released on social media.
Ryback Has Spent His Post-WWE Days Lashing Out
Soon after leaving WWE, Ryback started his own podcast, using it as a space to air his grievances. In 2016, he called John Cena “poison” and a “piece of sh--t.” In 2018, during a Live Instagram Q&A, he asked WWE star Rusev if he was on steroids, causing the Bulgarian brute to call out Ryback for being extremely inappropriate.
In a Twitter exchange with Dolph Ziggler in 2020, Ziggler responded to a diss by calling Ryback a Goldberg rip-off that no one liked to work with. Ryback tweeted out in reply, “What's next for Ziggy Michaels? Sitting in Gorilla working under p---y Paul's Developmental Program?"
In 2021, he went after Mark Henry, tweeting that a WWE producer had told him Mark Henry was a “fat piece of s--t.” Henry replied, “I could take a nap and be better than that mother f--ker any day of the week.“
Ryback may have committed his worst sin by once tweeting of Vince McMahon, “The guy is a piece of s--t, can't stress this enough. World will be a better place when he passes. This isn't wishing death, but stating an opinion I believe to be true."
Late last year, he attacked Mansoor for no reason at all, tweeting, “Vince McMahon, you can give Mansoor Steve Austin’s music and he still won’t be over. Holy s--t your product f--king sucks.”
Mansoor had the best response, one that fans have constantly hit Ryback with, by retweeting a poll Ryback posted, asking “What promotion would you like to see me return to in 2021?” The options were AEW, NXT, Impact, and retirement. Retirement won overwhelmingly with 72%. Fans had experienced enough of Ryback’s online tirades.
It’s a shame that Ryback turned to such hatred. He was never going to be one of the all-time greats. He was never going to be a champion. Still, he made it to the biggest stage of all. He was a success. Fans loved him. For him to pass his shortcomings on to everyone else, to blame others for what he didn’t achieve is, unfortunately, what so many of us are going to remember him for now.