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I agree that he was getting over, but the dude's push has never really faltered. They've always given him a kayfabe reason for losing and he's been made to look like he can fight anyone in the WWE at any time. People just don't care any more because the character was never that interesting and, in my opinion, was always going to fizzle.
I'll compare Ryback to Batista for a second -- if you had just gotten Batista, had this really ripped, charismatic, solid big man destroy people with his lariats and his spinebusters and his powerbombs -- yeah, he might have gotten over and won the World Heavyweight Title had the company really tried and pushed him towards it. But Batista got over and became a consistent top-level star because he showed other things. He was a supporting player in Evolution, essentially there to be an enforcer to Triple H and Randy Orton. He got a few Tag Title reigns with Ric Flair, but he was never the main attraction of the group, and had he been pushed as such, it may not have worked. What Batista did show was a confidence, quiet charisma and bad-assery that eventually swelled up his following to the point where it was inevitable he would break away from the group. He wasn't dumb, he didn't keep hitting his head against the wall against "smarter" heels, and he was actually the one who first struck out against Triple H and Ric Flair. Yes, Triple H putting Batista over cleanly three times helped, but that became an inevitability given the chance to create a major star in front of them.
Ryback, whether because he lacks that extra spark Batista had, or merely for timing or creative reasons, has actually be a victim of booking that inevitably goes against him. He wasn't as interesting as CM Punk, and Punk vs. Rock was always going to be the attraction for the Royal Rumble -- it was always going to be the better match, the better storyline, the better promos, the better draw and just overall better -- so there was never any reason to go with this two-dimensional hoss as champion. That's why I suggested they never put Ryback in the situation at the time, and actually suggested Ryback turn on Vince McMahon and John Cena and align himself with Paul Heyman. Putting Ryback on the side of Heyman and Punk would have given Punk muscle, given Ryback time to develop a personality (why would he join them?), given Ryback two people to talk for him, and created a kayfabe situation where people could speculate that Punk and Heyman are trying to control Ryback because they are afraid of the threat he posses to the WWE Title.
Now he's a heel and the question isn't Goldberg's "Who next?" but "What next?" because the guy just seems to be an upper mid-card muscle-bound bad guy like any other we have seen. Just like when he was a babyface he was an upper mid-card muscle-bound good guy. We've never had motivation for Ryback, and while "he just likes to beat up people and be the best" exists, it's not really compelling when there are more interesting personas and stories going. Putting the WWE Title on him would just be like how they give every girl a chance with the Divas Title eventually.
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