There has been a lot of controversy in WWE over the course of the past month, and most of it has to do with a few specific names. On Friday, WWE released eight superstars who had not been used much in the past year, and wished them well on their future endeavors. Adam Rose is dealing with a 60-day suspension for Adderall. Now, there is the contract issue with Ryback, and it seems as if he may have had an interesting and legitimate demand when speaking of his deal.
It has become common knowledge by now that Ryback was sent home from Monday Night Raw this week at his own request. He had a meeting with Vince McMahon about his current contact, his position in the company, and the money he was getting paid.
Ryback spoke about the situation in a blog post , and he spoke on how he believes all talent should be paid the same amount of money. Everyone is doing a job, and they all go out there to either win or lose. Since wrestling has a predetermined outcome, he is of the belief that all superstars are equal and should be paid as such.
Well, it appears there was more to it than that.
Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radiothat the disputebetween Ryback and Vince McMahon at Monday Night Rawdid boil down to money. A number of other issues did get brought up during the discussion, but money was the primary factor in it all.
One of the interesting things is that Ryback was rumored to have asked McMahon to pay for his hotel stays while he’s on the road. It’s known that WWE talent is on the road the majority of the year, and they end up having to stay at different hotels almost every night.
Meltzer went on to say that in “pretty much any other profession,” the company does foot the bill for hotel stays when employees are on the road. It seems as if WWE differs from the majority of companies on that note.
Ryback made a big statement at Paybackwhen he wore a workout belt with “The Pre-Show Stopper” written on it to the ring. That was obviously a message to those backstage in WWE and he wanted to let them know he wasn’t happy about how things were going.
Vince Russo recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. about Ryback and his recent actions , and he has nothing but respect for the man.
“When (I saw) that message he wrote on his belt or whatever the case may be, I found that rather shocking. Now for him to do something like this, it comes as no surprise to me whatsoever.”
Even after that, Ryback took the time to speak directly to Vince McMahon about his contract and the money coming his way. That not only took a lot of guts, but it also showed a lot more personality in Ryback that hadn’t really been seen before, according to Russo.
“All of those little things, the guy has a personality. For him to do all those things, one, it takes balls, two, you have to be creative. I know how things work at the WWE. All he had to do was rub one person the wrong way, and that’s it for your career. I would think that it’s a good move for him.”
It really did seem like Ryback may never be seen in a WWE ring again, but that may not end up being the case at all. When Ryback wasn’t one of the eight released on WWE’s version of “ Black Friday ,” some began to think that maybe things were being smoothed out. If “The Big Guy” is able to come to a civil and respectful agreement with the company, then a new deal may be put in place and he’ll return to TV. If not, Ryback may soon be wished well on his future endeavors, too.
[Image via WWE]