Former WWE Superstar Ryback has released another episode of his podcast Conversation With The Big Guy. You can check out some highlights here:
On dedicating himself to the company and it not paying off:
“When you work for the WWE, it consumes your life and you have to be all in. And I let it consume my life and that was part of the reason I was so frustrated. When you dedicate and you give so much to something and you give yourself to them and you say, ‘work me to death – I want to be worked to the bone. I want media interviews on my days off. I want media every week. Every week, I want to do Monday and Tuesday interviews in the morning and on little sleep. I want to be all about this.’ And then, ‘no, we’re just going to cut off your media altogether.’ Like, it’s not a good feeling. And it’s like, ‘well, f–k you then. Go ahead – find someone else then. I’m going to use this work ethic for something else.’ And for me, letting that run out, be thankful for everything, now I can apply my energies to all these different things that I wanted to do for so long. And nobody can tell me ‘no’ anymore.”
On his brand being tarnished:
“‘Feed Me More’, that is what bothered me so badly about WWE because I can’t let that be tarnished. That is something I believe in too strongly and I’ve told them, ‘I want to do other things with brand.’ I go, ‘I cannot, we cannot, say that I’m a piece of s–t because that affects how my brand is perceived in other things.’ And that played a huge factor for me in walking out and wanting to leave.”
On ‘feed me more’ being more than just for pro wrestling:
“I created it and it’s something. You don’t, I don’t, create something to hand it over to somebody else. I refuse to and that’s the case. And that is who and what I am as a human being.” Ryback added, “‘Feed Me More’ is so much more than just wrestling. It’s a way of living life. It’s just waking up hungry each and every day, and being your absolute best, and being thankful.”
(All transcribed quotes courtesy of Wrestling Inc.)