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“C.M Punk was never a match for Paul Heyman one-on-one. C.M Punk had a lot of help. For example-that big, ugly dummy Ryback. We all found out that when Ryback went one-on-one with C.M. Punk, he was biting off more than he could chew.”- Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman made his first appearance on Monday Night Raw since getting planted by a GTS on top of a steel cage. Curtis Axel made an appearance alongside Heyman as his guy- The ONLY Paul Heyman guy in the current roster (except Brock Lesnar). WWE seems to be giving axel a lot of momentum instead of giving his character some, um, characteristics. Axel’s victory over Ziggler was achieved after a good match and his continued alliance with Heyman is a good sign for his character as well.
But the most striking thing that stood out and was meant to stand out was the termination of the Ryback-Heyman bromance (or whatever appropriate terminology for their relationship).
On Monday Night Raw Ryback did not rule (in any sense of the word). He lost to R-Truth and Paul Heyman disowned him. He was stripped off of being a ‘Paul Heyman guy’ and is that ever good news? In my opinion,this can lead to three scenarios. One- this means that Ryback’s push has ran its course, not that it hadn’t crossed its expiry date but his loss to R-Truth might just trigger Ryback losing all the monster privileges he had for over a year. Two- His push continues and he’s given an umpteenth character change and returns to television in another gimmick. Three- He talks things through with Heyman and gets attacked by Axel, only to overpower him and now Heyman has a new former guy who’s out to get him. Enter Brock Lesnar. And that might just be the beginning of a Lesnar-Ryback feud.
To me the third possibility sounds better as far as the Ryback’s character is concerned. As I have emphasized before, all Ryback’s character has lacked is a great opponent who can showcase great in ring chemistry with Ryback. Ryback has not had any spectacular match except the ones he had with The Shield. Lesnar and Ryback can be great opponents for each other.
Last week, Ryback faced Khali and won with a clothesline. This week he lost to R-Truth. What is happening? This is the precise question that every Ryback character change has never answered.
But a Paul Heyman- Ryback confrontation sounds fresher and better than continuing the CM Punk- Heyman feud. It needs to end for now. Obviously, there is always room for more and the feud can be continued at a later stage but for now, it needs to be over.
