Bye-bye Big Guy

Ryback
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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After months of speculation, it looks like WWE and Ryback have officially parted ways. Ryback posted a video earlier on his Instagram page.

"The big guy Ryback would like to wish the WWE the best of luck in their future endeavours. From this point forward myself and the WWE will no longer be conducting business together. I would personally like to say thank you to all the WWE performers whom I've had the pleasure of being in the ring with," said Ryback.

The Big Guy plans to launch a new website Feed Me More on Monday, August 8. Ryback has a clothing line, motivational book and nutritional supplements. He also says he'll continue wrestling (no word where).

Jay Hatton vs. Ryback at Extreme Rules 2012
Courtesy: WWE

WWE screwed up with the Ryback experiment years ago. The early push was great, but then throwing him almost immediately from squash matches to the world title picture was a mistake. Ryback got the Goldberg comparison and with good reason. Their pushes were similar in the early phases and you can't deny appearances of both Superstars was almost identical. By the way my favorite Ryback match is the one where he battled my buddy "Jay" Hatton.

Turning him heel and feuding with John Cena and then stumbling down the card was also a mistake. Ryback had the potential to be a huge breakout star. I even had hope for he and Curtis Axel as a tag team and becoming "Paul Heyman guys." It's hard for me to believe I'm actually saying this, as I could not stand Skip Sheffield during the first season of NXT. Even as the Ryback character he was never my favorite, but I do respect the man and what he's done.

Ryback
Courtesy: WWE

Part of my attitude change comes after hearing Ryback on the Steve Austin podcast. During the interview he sounded confident, but humble. It seems he got caught in the wheel of doom and was lost in the shuffle. I remained optimistic he'd redeem himself after returning face and winning the Intercontinental title. He just never had a good chance. Fans loved him, at least the kids did. Chalk this up to another missed opportunity by WWE.