Welcome back to Day 147 of Ryback Watch. We here at With Spandex are currently of the opinion that we definitely thought he’d be done saying or doing noteworthy things by this point, but ever since leaving WWE, the guy has just been so damned interesting. After spilling the beans about his steroid use, talking about The Undertaker clowning on him and bragging a whole bunch about how successful he was in WWE, now he’s getting a little rankled that Goldberg (or WWE) didn’t pick him for that big comeback match over a decade in the making.
While appearing as a guest on Busted Open, Ryback talked about the news that Brock Lesnar and Goldberg would be having their rematch. Ryback, who has drawn (mostly unfavorable) comparisons to Goldberg throughout his career, talked about how cool it is that the biggest phenomenon in WCW history is coming back, but he really wishes it was him instead of Lesnar getting the opportunity.
“I think it’s really cool that he, he’s going to be 50 years old, that he wants to come back and come back for his family and kids to see him in true time do his thing. Now, I will say, he knows, he said it himself, he’s going on 50 years old and he has been away from the game for quite a long time. And for me, for my own selfish reasons, that should be me and Goldberg. It shouldn’t be him and Brock. It has been there. They’ve done that 13 years ago. It’s 13 years have gone by. We’re in a different era now.
“Who’s to say that 2K17 doesn’t have money in this and they’re not throwing money around to make this match happen to promote the video game? I can’t say. I’m not in that circle. I don’t know. But I like his reasons for wanting to do it, as far as for his family. I think that’s really cool. I’m sure if I was 49 [or] 50 and had my family and they hadn’t seen me wrestle, like, I’m sure that would be going through my mind as well. It’s just, I hope he does what’s best for him, ultimately. And Brock is a very physical human being, and, Bill, he’s up there. Now, I think, can he do it? Absolutely, but it’s a different day and age.”
That’s just about the most shade and compliments I’ve ever seen wrapped up into one big ol’ tangle of sour grapes. Who really knows how differently Ryback’s WWE career might have gone if he’d gotten a chance to tangle with Goldberg during his initial push? Of course, no one can deny that, good idea or not, “Goldberg vs. Lesnar” sure has a whole lot more allure and will sell a whole lot more tickets than “Goldberg vs. Ryback,” no matter what year it is.
(h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcript)
