WrestleMania Backstage news on Ryback/Henry

[Crayo]

The likely Ryback vs. Mark Henry match for WrestleMania 29 is largely designed to actually let Ryback get a win on pay-per-view. It appears the idea of a Ryback heel turn has been dropped for now.

 

[Rysenberg]

Yeah this match is perfectly really, Ryback has lot an absolute tonne of momentum given the big PPV losses, going over Henry will be great for him IMO.

 

[Crayo]

Whilst it'll be sad to see Henry lose, I'm all for this.

 

[seabs]

I'd be cool with him walking out and hitting a straight shellshock, Ryback needs a big moment.

 

[Brad.]

Henry/Ryback will be boring as a normal single match. Falls count anywhere or something like that could make it fun.

 

[Leo C]

So Ryback and the Shield? Uh... no more? They've been building that since Survivor Series and... nothing? Really? :mad2:

This match is alright, Ryback winning is good although I'll be sad when Henry loses.

 

[Mustafar Reginald]

So Ryback and the Shield? Uh... no more? They've been building that since Survivor Series and... nothing? Really? :mad2:

This match is alright, Ryback winning is good although I'll be sad when Henry loses.

Pretty sure The Shield/Ryback feud ended when The Shield beat Ryback a second time in the Jericho/Ryback/Sheamus match awhile back. I mean, since then I haven't been aware of them interacting with each other at all. Which is a bit underwhelming considering all the time they dedicated to it but I think it was a fitting conclusion in hindsight (at the time, I didn't think it worked). If The Shield were winning the feud that was the best way for it happening since Ryback didn't look any weaker (and Jericho took the fall that match, but still works as a conclusion since they have pinned Ryback). Plus, it's refreshing to see the face that they heels been harassing for the longest time not to get his revenge on them. It's good that The Shield actually won a relatively big feud before taking their first loss. Though it could be a case of them winning the battle but not the war (what I mean is the feud is reignited after their first loss).

Also, let's do some speculation here, albeit optimistic one. This match was designed specifically to give Ryback a PPV win. Now, typical WWE booking would suggest that the Ryback/Shield feud would've concluded at WrestleMania. It had a long build, a face that could've been the next big thing, and WWE are probably still optimistic about, a great heel team that just kept managing to defeat/screw Ryback. Why end the feud on Raw instead of Mania if the match they're giving Ryback is to give him a PPV win. It could mean that Ryback was taken out of The Shield match at Mania because The Shield are currently planned to go over. It might seem ridiculous to some but a lot of people thought they were losing at Chamber (I didn't, not after the booking had the Justice League look way too strong over them - plus I can be overly optimistic as I'm showing now). It could also mean that they wanted Ryback to get a big one-on-one win against Henry.

Also, Ryback being busy with Henry instead of The Shield for Mania explains to me why Sheamus didn't take the fall at the Chamber like I thought he would. Now, it seems they've been avoiding Sheamus getting the fall in the previous six-man tag matches so he can lead the team against The Shield. This unfortunately points to Sheamus getting the victory and being the one who delivers The Shield's first loss at Mania but meh, I'll try and stay halfway positive about it.

As for Ryback vs. Henry, it's better than the Henry vs. Show match that was rumored to happen months ago*. Seeing Ryback shell-shock Henry would be cool. Also, did anyone believe that turning Ryback heel was seriously going to happen.

*Sorry, got so more speculative crap to spew. Months ago, before he return, Mark Henry tweeted something along the lines of The Shield irritating him because he was the one who did all the ass-kicking. This tweet wasn't too far off from the rumors that Ryback will be taking on Big Show at WrestleMania, if memory serves me correctly. Now into the build, Mark Henry is apparently going to face Ryback while Big Show is joining the fight against The Shield. This implies that the original plans could've been for Henry to fight against The Shield at Mania and Show/Ryback but plans changed and they just switched one monster for another for whatever reason, possibly because their plans for Ryback/Show were leaked and it was an easy solution. Or this is just complete coincidence. I will also point out, just because it jumped into my head, that at Elimination Chamber Henry staying in the Chamber after being eliminated could've perfectly fit with The Shield's anti-justice motif and could've lead to them attacking him. Leading him to be the heel big man in the match (Show hasn't turned right). So that could fit with WWE's constant decision changes.

Also, to tie back into my last speculative crap, Big Show is still playing a heel right who just got wrapped up into this right? So, I can imagine the build plays out something like with The Nexus SummerSlam bout, with Show filling into the Jericho/Edge role more or less. The difference here is that if they keep Show from turning and only make it appear as if he's just aligning with them to get rid of The Shield, that could lead to why The Shield wins at Mania. Or, alternatively, they could play it off like Show being a bitch to deal with, which causes a ripple in the team. Instead of having Show being the one to snap and betray the team, the could have it be Orton (which fits his character much more than Show). Having him RKO the Big Show, then probably Sheamus if he goes up to him and ask him, "What the hell are you doing, fella?". This could lead to a nice swerve whether you're expecting The Shield to lose or Show betraying them to be the reason they win. It also finally gives Orton the heel turn he's been begging forever for.

Okay, I'm done speculating.

 

[Leo C]

Pretty sure The Shield/Ryback feud ended when The Shield beat Ryback a second time in the Jericho/Ryback/Sheamus match awhile back. I mean, since then I haven't been aware of them interacting with each other at all. Which is a bit underwhelming considering all the time they dedicated to it but I think it was a fitting conclusion in hindsight (at the time, I didn't think it worked). If The Shield were winning the feud that was the best way for it happening since Ryback didn't look any weaker (and Jericho took the fall that match, but still works as a conclusion since they have pinned Ryback). Plus, it's refreshing to see the face that they heels been harassing for the longest time not to get his revenge on them. It's good that The Shield actually won a relatively big feud before taking their first loss. Though it could be a case of them winning the battle but not the war (what I mean is the feud is reignited after their first loss).

Also, let's do some speculation here, albeit optimistic one. This match was designed specifically to give Ryback a PPV win. Now, typical WWE booking would suggest that the Ryback/Shield feud would've concluded at WrestleMania. It had a long build, a face that could've been the next big thing, and WWE are probably still optimistic about, a great heel team that just kept managing to defeat/screw Ryback. Why end the feud on Raw instead of Mania if the match they're giving Ryback is to give him a PPV win. It could mean that Ryback was taken out of The Shield match at Mania because The Shield are currently planned to go over. It might seem ridiculous to some but a lot of people thought they were losing at Chamber (I didn't, not after the booking had the Justice League look way too strong over them - plus I can be overly optimistic as I'm showing now). It could also mean that they wanted Ryback to get a big one-on-one win against Henry.

Also, Ryback being busy with Henry instead of The Shield for Mania explains to me why Sheamus didn't take the fall at the Chamber like I thought he would. Now, it seems they've been avoiding Sheamus getting the fall in the previous six-man tag matches so he can lead the team against The Shield. This unfortunately points to Sheamus getting the victory and being the one who delivers The Shield's first loss at Mania but meh, I'll try and stay halfway positive about it.

As for Ryback vs. Henry, it's better than the Henry vs. Show match that was rumored to happen months ago*. Seeing Ryback shell-shock Henry would be cool. Also, did anyone believe that turning Ryback heel was seriously going to happen.

*Sorry, got so more speculative crap to spew. Months ago, before he return, Mark Henry tweeted something along the lines of The Shield irritating him because he was the one who did all the ass-kicking. This tweet wasn't too far off from the rumors that Ryback will be taking on Big Show at WrestleMania, if memory serves me correctly. Now into the build, Mark Henry is apparently going to face Ryback while Big Show is joining the fight against The Shield. This implies that the original plans could've been for Henry to fight against The Shield at Mania and Show/Ryback but plans changed and they just switched one monster for another for whatever reason, possibly because their plans for Ryback/Show were leaked and it was an easy solution. Or this is just complete coincidence. I will also point out, just because it jumped into my head, that at Elimination Chamber Henry staying in the Chamber after being eliminated could've perfectly fit with The Shield's anti-justice motif and could've lead to them attacking him. Leading him to be the heel big man in the match (Show hasn't turned right). So that could fit with WWE's constant decision changes.

Also, to tie back into my last speculative crap, Big Show is still playing a heel right who just got wrapped up into this right? So, I can imagine the build plays out something like with The Nexus SummerSlam bout, with Show filling into the Jericho/Edge role more or less. The difference here is that if they keep Show from turning and only make it appear as if he's just aligning with them to get rid of The Shield, that could lead to why The Shield wins at Mania. Or, alternatively, they could play it off like Show being a bitch to deal with, which causes a ripple in the team. Instead of having Show being the one to snap and betray the team, the could have it be Orton (which fits his character much more than Show). Having him RKO the Big Show, then probably Sheamus if he goes up to him and ask him, "What the hell are you doing, fella?". This could lead to a nice swerve whether you're expecting The Shield to lose or Show betraying them to be the reason they win. It also finally gives Orton the heel turn he's been begging forever for.

Okay, I'm done speculating.

Great post. And yes, that may be considered the end for Shield/Ryback (the match with Jericho) but my point was that it's just another wrong thing WWE has done with Ryback. I mean, unless they brought the Shield in initially just to have an excuse for Ryback to lose matches but they saw how well it worked and changed their mind, as in they were supposed to job to Ryback in a handicap match at WM but they changed it for them to win (with a possible Orton turn, yes) because they want to extend the angle, building a feud so long and dropping it right before WM while "randomly" starting a Henry/Ryback feud is really stupid. I mean, yeah, Ryback wins again and that's good, at least a good thing after booking him so badly, but it just feels wrong. Someone mentioned a Gauntlet match between him and Shield at WM (not sure if it was you or Kevin Lockard) with him losing in the very end after a hard fought match and then the roster helping him as he beats Shield up sounded great, going to miss that. Although a Shell Shocked on Henry would work just as well, I suppose.

 

[Mustafar Reginald]

Great post. And yes, that may be considered the end for Shield/Ryback (the match with Jericho) but my point was that it's just another wrong thing WWE has done with Ryback. I mean, unless they brought the Shield in initially just to have an excuse for Ryback to lose matches but they saw how well it worked and changed their mind, as in they were supposed to job to Ryback in a handicap match at WM but they changed it for them to win (with a possible Orton turn, yes) because they want to extend the angle, building a feud so long and dropping it right before WM while "randomly" starting a Henry/Ryback feud is really stupid. I mean, yeah, Ryback wins again and that's good, at least a good thing after booking him so badly, but it just feels wrong. Someone mentioned a Gauntlet match between him and Shield at WM (not sure if it was you or Kevin Lockard) with him losing in the very end after a hard fought match and then the roster helping him as he beats Shield up sounded great, going to miss that. Although a Shell Shocked on Henry would work just as well, I suppose.

It was Lockard. And I agree that dropping the feud during the build of Mania and starting something else isn't what I'd call a good or smart decision but I'd be lying if I said I found Ryback's revenge, fourth match against The Shield (even if it is the gauntlet) more interesting than a Ryback/Henry match and a Shield match that doesn't involve Ryback. Considering how low my interest in this year's Mania is, I'll take any improvement, bad booking be damned.

 

[Lockard 23]

I'd considered some of these ideas before... That Ryback not being in a fourth match against The Shield gives me the optimism that they're picking up the win at Mania as well. There's been tension off and on between Orton and Sheamus for awhile and there's been reports of Orton wanting to go heel off and on for awhile as well. Orton could turn heel against Sheamus and walk out and that leaves Big Show all alone against The Shield. What a great way to end it by showing that not even the dominant Big Show can take on these three guys at once. They eventually (rather quickly after Orton destroying Sheamus and walking away) put Show down and then all three pile on top of him for the pin. It's a cool visual image.

Ryback squashing Henry can be his way of getting back something he lost as a result of the Shield always getting the upper-hand over him.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I hate the idea of that match as it will probably be very dull, sans Henry's shit talk. The fact that it is a guaranteed WSM loss chaps my ass as well. Just anothe predictable match on an already ALL TIME predictable card.