WWE News: Update On Ryback’s Contract Dispute And Status With WWE
Late Monday, it was reported that WWE superstar Ryback had been sent home from St. Louis, the site of Monday Night RAW. His dismissal came as a result of a contract dispute with WWE, as Ryback’s current deal is set to expire sometime this summer. The Big Guy has not been shy about voicing his displeasure with his position in the company, and all of that could have factored into the negotiations he may have been having on Monday. It is worth noting that both sides have been in the process of working on a new deal, and this was by no means the first step in that process.
Wrestling Observer Radio (as reported by Daily Wrestling News) was informed that Ryback’s contract meeting was taking place with Vince McMahon, although Triple H may or may not have been involved in the meeting as well. WWE prefers to handle re-negotiations well in advance of a contract running out, which is why the meeting took place Monday night. Ryback did not like the offer that was made to him and was reportedly told to go home, to which he obliged. Ryback did not offer up any type of resistance when he was told to leave, with the main source of his angst being the type of money Vince and WWE were willing to offer him.
There will surely be updates as the situation continues to unfold, but at present, it appears that WWE is possibly willing to pay Ryback simply to sit at home and wait for his contract to expire. This is not all that uncommon and is currently happening with two other superstars as well. King Barrett informed the company back in January that he did not intend to re-sign with his deal set to run out in June. And once the League of Nations kicked him out of the group, that was WWE’s way of writing him off television for good. Mark Henry is on the verge of retirement with no bad blood to report between the two sides on that front.
Dave Meltzer indicated that Ryback was scheduled to compete in Monday Night RAW’s Battle Royal to determine a new number-one contender to Kalisto’s United States Championship. It’s highly unlikely Ryback would have been booked to win the match, seeing how he suffered back-to-back pay-per-view pre-show losses to the Lucha star. Ryback didn’t do himself any favors Sunday night at Payback even though Jerry “The King” Lawler described his title shot as Ryback’s best match to date. The Big Guy wore a weightlifting belt that read “The Pre-Show Stopper” and even mocked C.M. Punk’s entrance in front of the hostile Chicago crowd.
Ryback recently expressed his overall frustrations in an interview with Dubai media personality Myles. These comments made the rounds and certainly found their way into WWE management offices.
“I’ve heard in this business hard work doesn’t always pay off. So maybe The Big Guy has to go find another world where that does pay off. But you work really, really hard at something and you dedicate yourself, and you sometimes have to be told you’re somewhere else. That’s a tough pill to swallow time and time again but I’ve never stopped believing in myself and I never will. Next year should undoubtedly be a big year for The Big Guy.”
It’s customary this time of year for WWE to perform some “spring cleaning,” where certain under-used or under-performing talent are released. Generally, the roster is stacked for a chance to appear at WrestleMania, NXT call-ups soon follow, and then the lower-tier superstars get their pink slips. Ryback is making things a little less difficult for management, who might be otherwise struggling to decide who to release.
[Photo by David Becker/Getty Images]
