WWE News: Ryback Goes Off Amid Contract Dispute, ‘WWE May Very Well Release Me’
After the first Monday Night RAW building up to Extreme Rules on May 22, it’s a superstar who won’t even be appearing on the show that’s grabbing all the headlines: Ryback. There have been several updates throughout the day Tuesday regarding Ryback and his rocky status with WWE at present. We were informed that The Big Guy was told to go home from St. Louis, the site of RAW, after a contract dispute with Vince McMahon. Rumors circulated that Ryback was upset with the latest offer and that WWE might be willing to let him sit at home and let his current deal run out.
All that looks to be true as Ryback himself is weighing in. Ryback, real name Ryan Reeves, is throwing caution to the wind and letting his side of the story be heard before any more speculation or rumors can trump his version. As covered by Wrestling Inc, Ryback launched a new blog on Tumblr and wasted no time adding even more drama to this story.
“Today I sit and fly home and for the first time in years feel absolutely free. I will start by saying I did request to be taken off of WWE television until myself and Vince could get a yes or no on a new deal. This has been going on since my IC Title run and had been nothing but a major strain on my life as all I ever wanted to do was work for WWE. I was told to head home until we agree or not agree to specific terms and contrary to reports it isn’t over money or a bus that stuff was settled a while ago.”
Ryback has an interesting take on the payment process in WWE, arguing for more of a communistic approach over what they do, and have done for years. He seems to give much more credit to the wrestlers willing to do a job rather than to those who might be more deserved of a certain spot in the pecking order.
“It comes down to a major problem I have with not only WWE but wrestling in general. Why not pay the talent equally? The winners have more MERCH as it is or are supposed to anyways so they get that extra perk, but why make the guy who is told to and agrees to lose earn less and sacrifice spots in big pay per view match ups etc. This is one of the major problems with wrestling and WWE today. Most guys take great satisfaction in helping making other talent, the b—hing and the moaning we always hear about stems from the fact they know they are ultimately over time going to make less and live in fear of being released.”
Ryback joins Adam Rose as recent WWE superstars under contract who went public with their complaints. King Barrett was clearly displeased with his status as well, but decided not to re-up with the company instead of burning a bridge. Obviously, Ryback does not operate under that school of thought.
“WWE may very well release me, which if it is the case so be it. If we can work things out a lot needs to change as I am not living in fear and creatively cannot continue to live a life that limits me creatively. I have many other interests and passions and have been very smart with my finances over the years. I thank every WWE superstar from top to bottom for their sacrifices and for working with me. The world is an amazing place and there is more than just a WWE universe there is The Universe and I will prove one way or another over time I am the greatest big guy in the universe!”
This likely means the end of Ryback in WWE for now. In his blog, which you should read the full entry here, he also states how he’s never questioned or argued the decision on a particular finish, even though his career pay-per-view record is 12-26. Only time will tell how this affects his career moving forward.
[Image via WWE]
