WWE News: Former Superstar Says Door Is Open To Return, Despite Current Legal Drama
Former WWE superstar Ryback has been mostly absent from in-ring competition since he left the promotion in 2016, but “The Big Guy” has the option of returning to the company. As quoted by Fightful, the former Intercontinental Champion was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet, where he opened up about his relationship with WWE.
“I’ve been told that I have a meeting whenever I want. Now how true that is, I don’t know, don’t really care. Getting my health back is my main priority.”
However, the former superstar has no intentions of returning to WWE until his legal drama with the company comes to an end. According to “The Big Guy,” the company refiled for the Ryback trademark earlier this year, just as he was about to claim ownership for himself.
“The Big Guy” went into more details about the situation during the interview, revealing that he has contacted WWE to plead with them to drop their filing.
“I actually sent [WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations] Mark Carano a message last week. Nothing mean, just, ‘I would really appreciate it if you guys would cancel or drop this on your own. I’m gonna be really upset if you don’t.’ I’m gonna be really f*cking upset.”
According to Ryback, refiling for his wrestling moniker is going to cost him up to $60,000, and the process could take 18 months to complete. Given that he intends to return to wrestling in 2020 and use the name, the messy drama is interfering with his career prospects.
Show's OVER!@Ryback22 @HeathSlaterOMRB #RAW pic.twitter.com/cgnFLTou2U
— WWE (@WWE) November 24, 2015
In the past, WWE has shown a willingness to put legal drama behind them and repair relationships with former superstars. Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and several others have returned to the company after falling out with management, so the door won’t be closed to Ryback if it makes sense from a business point of view.
However, Ryback’s issues with the company run deeper than the current legal drama. As The Inquisitr reported last week, he has criticized WWE over the way it treats superstars who aren’t held in high regard by management, and he doesn’t want to return to that environment.
During the interview, Ryback also said that he thinks Disney will buy WWE and that Triple H won’t stick around in the long term. He believes that Vince McMahon relaunching the XFL will result in him selling WWE to a big corporation, and the reason the product has been dumbed down lately is to make it more appealing to potential buyers.
