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RYBACK AS A TOP WWE NAME, JERICHO'S COMMENTS ON HIM, MOST UNDERRATED ECW TALENT EVER AND MUCH MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2012-10-25 10:00:00
My question is about Ryback. I know you guys have said in order for us to take him as a legit top guy, we have to see how he is on the mic first. Why? For what reason does someone have to be good on the mic to take him as a top guy? It's the same old same old. This way he is more of a monster. A Neanderthal so to speak. Shows up kicks ass, leaves. Kind of like what Kane was when he first arrived on scene. The thing that made him so scary was that he never spoke and just whooped ass. Then when started talking, the more everyone saw he was normal and his aura kind of vanished. I think they should for once, have a Champion that does not say a word. It would be a weird change, yes. But it would be a change. We had a Batista. We Had a Goldberg. We Had a Lesnar. Time to create something new. Yes?

I've never written we have to see what he can do on the mic personally, but I certainly know that the promo skills are a big part of drawing fans in and making them pay to see you wrestle. Still, WWE seems to be onto something with him and like The Sheik or Sabu or Goldberg or Nikita Koloff, sometimes less is more and when you have guys begin to speak too much, they lose that aura. I personally say keep Ryback as he is.

I would hope that WWE would avoid this, but, Should WWE use the King's heart attack as part of an angle, would Lawler understand it as "just business?"

I would think WWE is going to avoid it, but Lawler has been around the business so much, I think that deep down, he'd be happy to use it as an angle if it was going to draw money. However, I don't think the angle would and I don't think WWE will go that route.

WWE ran their story on forgotten ECW stars, which made me wonder who you think the most underrated and forgotten star of that promotion is?

The number one name is JT Smith. Smith was an incredible bumper and a great seller as a babyface. Then, when he turned heel, he took what should have been a pretty dopey gimmick of an African-American who believed he was Italian and made it a loveably heel bit for the undercard. I always felt that Smith's exit from the company in 1996 was very premature and it was a real shame that he never had the chance to make some real money in the business. To me, he was every bit as important to the fledgling days of the company as Sandman, Tod Gordon, etc.

Cena's arm surgery, was that the result of Brock Lesnar's Kimura lock and if so was there heat on Lesnar for hurting Cena because even on Raw, Lesnar seemed real stiff with Cena?

The surgery was the result of Cena's elbow taking damage over time, not one move. There's no heat on Lesnar.

I read on your site where Chris Jericho said in an interview that he believes Ryback should win. That much like Goldberg a decade ago, Ryback should be booked as that gy that destroys everyone, wins the title, and continues to destroy everyone. I disagree with Jericho because, if I remember correctly, while Goldberg beat jobbers on his way to the title he also beat men like Jericho, William Regal, Chris Benoit, DDP, Raven and Saturn (credible people who the viewer saw every week) meanwhile Ryback's beaten Curt Hawkins and Jinder Mahal, both of whom I forgot even had contracts with WWE. Goldberg had beaten enough credible people to seem a credible opponent for Hogan... Ryback on the other hand does not seem to have beaten anyone credible and shouldnt be seen as credible in return. What do you think of Jerichos statements? Do you think he was serious or just trying to get a rise out of people?

I believe Jericho was completely serious in his account of how he believed the main event of Hell in A Cell should be booked. Sometimes, you have to go with your gut and see how it works out, plus WWE is in desperate need of new names that can draw money. Right now, they have John Cena and CM Punk and that's it, because everyone else is a great deal lower than them in the eyes of the paying audience. You bring up a good point about the level of competition that Goldberg trounced in comparison to Ryback, but that's more a telling tale about the level of talent today and how paper-thin the overall business is on a national level.

Just wondering why The WWE always announced Edge and Christian as being from Toronto despite the fact they are both from Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. I have no idea where West Newbury, Massachusetts is, but that's where John Cena is from. I mean no offense, but is WWE dumbing it down for the American viewers because they think they only know of 4 cities in Canada? Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver?

I think it was more a case of making them sound big time than anything else.

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