Ryback On If Daniel Bryan And The Miz Really Have Heat, Vince McMahon Apologizing Over Miz Finish
Wake up! It's reading time! Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently talked about current on-air WWE SmackDown Live and Monday Night RAW General Managers Daniel Bryan and Kurt Angle. Also, Ryback put over The Miz and suggested that there is no real heat between Bryan and The Miz despite their friction on camera. Additionally, Ryback talked about regretting that he submitted to The Miz in a match early in his heel run in WWE.
According to Ryback, Bryan told him that an on-screen role with WWE where you cannot get physical is the worst.
"Daniel Bryan told me the worst thing to be up there [in WWE] is an on-screen personality because then you just get your scripted lines and you physically can't exert yourself. You just have to sit there. It's like you want to just f–king? it's not a good thing. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that he's happy."
On the subject of Angle's GM position, Ryback claimed that it is an unenviable job, but it is at least setting up a wrestling role for the WWE Hall Of Famer.
"Yeah, it's the s–ttiest job in the world. Sure he's on TV, and eventually, it will lead to him wrestling, like, but it's a miserable day at the office, sitting there, waiting for your lines and then, it's just memorizing, that's all that it is. And it's just stuff you wouldn't want to say and he has to do things he wouldn't want to do and he can't go out. He's a warrior. He likes to compete and he can't do that right now or they're not letting him do that or whatever. But he makes the most out of every situation and I admire that." Ryback continued, "he's such a strong on-screen personality and [when] used in a wrestling role, he did it so well everywhere he went, so it's just a different role for him right now. And I think he will, eventually, it will all be worth it when he gets to wrestle again, so I think he makes the most of it."
As for The Miz, Ryback stated that he has a lot of respect for the first and only Tough Enough Contestant to become WWE Champion. Moreover, 'The Big Guy' shared that The Miz has a big heart.
"He [has] been healthier than anybody his entire [pro wrestling] career. And I've been in there with The Miz time and time again and I don't think Miz is physically the specimen I am or to a lot of people. The one thing The Miz has is heart and Miz, I've seen it, I've come from Tough Enough with him, and I've seen this with him time and time again, he can turn it on with the best of them. And do I think he's the toughest guy in the world? No, but he'd go down swinging if it came to it, and he'll go down every time, but he'll go down swinging." Ryback added, "I have nothing but respect for The Miz and I like him a lot. And I think he belongs right where he is."
Ryback went on to say that there is no real heat between Bryan and The Miz and pointed out that the former NXT pro and rookie tandem have helped each other in their pro wrestling odysseys.
"Him and Dan, it's all f–king fake! Even if that was [them] taking shots at each other, they're still in a f–king scripted environment. And Dan knows. Dan [has] wrestled The Miz. Dan can go out there and wrestle with anybody and Miz can put in time." Ryback continued, "and Daniel Bryan has nothing but respect for The Miz and The Miz really helped him a lot early on. And Daniel Bryan helped Miz too with everything and escalating him."
When asked what was the weirdest angle he was ever pitched, Ryback instead shared a story of being asked to submit in a match versus The Miz, a move designed to set up the cowardly Ryback heel persona.
"Remember they had me quit against The Miz when he was kicking my leg against the ropes? Go YouTube it. Road Dogg and [Fit] Finlay came up to me and I could tell by their expression, they were, like, laughing and nervous because there was no good way [to say it]. It was so out-of-the-blue. It was after 'Feed Me More' Ryback and just turning heel. It was getting ready to go into the [Chris] Jericho program and the wanted me? Miz kicking my leg in the corner where he puts your leg in the rope and starts kicking your thigh meat, where I [say], 'I quit, I quit, I quit!' and they wanted me to look like a p—y. And I go, 'well, that sounds like a s–tty idea.' And they go, 'no, no, no, no, no, but it's Vince [McMahon]'s idea and Jericho is going to call you 'Cryback' and we want it to catch on. And I was like, 'we were just doing this. How are we going to go from that to this, like, in a course of a week?' And then, it was just one of those things that I wished I had not done in all seriousness. The following week, Vince apologized to me with me and him at the office and I don't remember the details of it and everything, but it was I was talking to him about a Sheamus program, potentially, because me and Sheamus really, really wanted to have a program. And still to this day, he's one of the guys I really, really wanted to have a program with long term."
Ryback recalled, "Vince just [said], 'ah, I apologize. It was a bad idea.' And it was literally the next week. It couldn't have been planned any better. Like, he knew full well what he was doing with that. It was just absolute f–king s–t and I wish I just never would've done that. Again, the next week, how do you not know that it's going to be a f–king [bad idea] going from what we just did to that. He knows full well what he's doing. It was s–t."
BOTCH! If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Conversation With The Big Guy, pal, with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: Conversation With The Big Guy