Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves ( November 10 , 1981 ) is an American professional wrestler . He is best known for his time in WWE , where he performed under the ring name Ryback and is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion . After being one of the eight finalists on " WWE Tough Enough 4 " , he later signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and wrestled in its developmental territories Deep South Wrestling , Ohio Valley Wrestling , and Florida Championship Wrestling . He also participated in the first season of " NXT " in early 2010 under the ring name Skip Sheffield . Reeves headlined four pay - per - view events for WWE in the early 2010s , three of those for the WWE Championship . Early life . Reeves started watching wrestling at the age of 8 and was allowed to ring the bell at a live World Wrestling Federation event . Wanting to become a professional wrestler , Reeves began weight lifting at 12 years old . He was nicknamed " Silverback " as a teenager , after a childhood friend joked that he resembled a Gorilla , and later adopted it as a part of his ring name . Reeves excelled at baseball and football while attending Western High School and Palo Verde High School . He also played college baseball during his freshman year at the Community College of Southern Nevada , but broke his leg and ended up missing two seasons . Reeves attended the University of Nevada , Las Vegas and entered in its fitness management program . Professional wrestling career . Tough Enough ( 2004 ) . Reeves spent the next two years concentrating on training to enter professional wrestling . He also attended University of Nevada , Las Vegas , majoring in fitness management , while working part - time at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino . Reeves sent a brief one minute videotape of himself to become a contestant on " $ 1 , 000 , 000 Tough Enough " and was invited to Venice Beach with 49 others . During the first week of training , Reeves suffered from bronchitis and a rib injury . He eventually became one of the eight finalists to appear on " SmackDown ! " and the last to be voted off . Even though he did not win the competition , Reeves impressed WWE officials enough for them to sign him to a developmental contract . He spent time healing from his injuries in Las Vegas before heading to Atlanta , Georgia in March 2005 . Ohio Valley Wrestling . Debut ( 2005 – 2006 ) . After training in DSW for most of 2005 and early 2006 , Reeves was transferred over to Ohio Valley Wrestling in early March . He defeated Kasey James , Pat Buck , Da Beast and Nick Nemeth in dark match es over the next two months and , with Mikey Batts , defeated the teams of Billy Kryptonite and Russell Simpson , and Jack Bull and Vic Devine . In July 2006 , Reeves was suspended for 30 days due to failing a drug test as part of WWE ' s Wellness Program . According to Reeves , he had been taking several over the counter bodybuilding supplements , one of which inadvertently caused a false reading . The supplements he was using were later taken off the market due to this effect and , although his suspension remained in place , Reeves eventually returned to the roster after passing a second test . His case was later featured on the CNN documentary " Death Grip : Inside Pro Wrestling " . High Dosage ( 2006 – 2007 ) . After his previous 30 day suspension , Reeves returned while sporting bleached hair . In September 2006 , Reeves began teaming with Jon Bolen , and together the team became known as High Dosage . Scoring early victories against teams such as Los Locos ( Aaron Lamata and Low Rider ) and Gothic Mayhem ( Johnny Punch and Pat Buck ) , they began feuding with the then newly formed team of Eddie Craven , Mike Kruel and " The Bad Seed " Shawn Osborne . The two did not fare well against the trio losing both tag team and single matches to them during the next few weeks . On October 18 , he and Bolen also lost to them in a handicap match . Things soon changed however when High Dosage beat Eddie Craven and Mike Kruel a month later . As a result of their victory , they were allowed five minutes alone with Shawn Osbourne but he was able to escape with the help of Craven and Kruel . Although continuing to face their rivals throughout the year , High Dosage also won matches against Los Locos and Bad Company defeating them later in a Handicap Coal Miner ' s Glove on a Pole match on November 29 . On December 9 , High Dosage teamed with Seth Skyfire and lost to Craven , Kruel and Milena Roucka . Reeves also took part in a four - way Elimination Christmas Present match with Kruel four days later . The participants included Justin LaRoche and Charles Evans , T . J . Dalton and Steve Lewington , and Seth Skyfire and Paul Burchill who eventually won the match . On January 6 , 2007 , High Dosage lost to Justin LaRouche and Charles Evans . They also lost to the Tag Team Champions Cody Runnels and Shawn Spears four days later . This was their last match together as Reeves was officially released from his contract less than two weeks later . Despite having been released from his developmental contract , Reeves returned to OVW on November 14 and teamed with Pat Buck in a losing effort to Colt Cabana and Shawn Spears for the Tag Team Championship . Heavyweight Champion and departure ( 2008 ) . After over a year ' s absence from OVW , Reeves returned to OVW under the ring name Ryback and under a new Terminator gimmick . In his first match since returning , he managed to win the Heavyweight Championship on October 15 , 2008 by defeating Anthony Bravado . After wrestling Bravado to a double count - out on October 22 and thus retaining the title , he ultimately lost the title to Bravado on October 29 . Soon after the title loss , Reeves was then re - signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment . To explain his departure , Ryback lost a Loser Leaves OVW match to Bravado on December 17 . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Florida Championship Wrestling ( 2008 – 2010 ) . On December 16 , 2008 , Reeves , under his Ryback ring name and character , made his in - ring debut in Florida Championship Wrestling , losing a tag match with Jon Cutler against Kris Logan and Taylor Rotunda . Ryback soon formed a tag team with Sheamus O ' Shaunessy and the duo unsuccessfully challenged for the Florida Tag Team Championship on a few occasions until O ' Shaunessy was called up to the main roster . After the Ryback character was scrapped , Reeves made his FCW redebut on October 25 under the ring name Skip Sheffield , a cowboy gimmick , where he defeated Jimmy Uso . NXT and The Nexus ( 2010 ) . On February 16 , 2010 during the final episode of " ECW " , Sheffield was announced as one of eight FCW wrestlers , called " rookies " , to take part in the first season of WWE ' s new " NXT " show . Although Montel Vontavious Porter was originally to be his mentor , or " pro " , he was later replaced by William Regal . Sheffield made his " NXT " in - ring debut on the March 2 episode , where he teamed with Regal to lose to Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel . On the April 27 " NXT " , Sheffield picked up his first victory with a win over Daniel Bryan . However , Sheffield was eliminated by the Pros on May 11 , despite an earlier win over Darren Young , in the first " NXT " elimination poll . He was one of three eliminations that same night , behind Bryan and Michael Tarver , and said he would be back . On the June 7 episode of " Raw " , Sheffield along with the other " NXT " season one rookies , interfered in the main event match between John Cena and CM Punk , attacking both competitors as well as the announcing team before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment . On the June 14 " Raw " , the rookies attacked General Manager Bret Hart , when he refused to give them contracts . The following week on " Raw " , Vince McMahon fired Hart and announced the hiring of a new General Manager , who had signed all seven season one NXT rookies to contracts . The following week , the group was named the Nexus . On the July 12 " Raw " , The Nexus ( without Darren Young ) competed in their first match together , defeating John Cena in a six - on - one handicap match . The feud continued at SummerSlam , where Team WWE fought the Nexus in a seven - on - seven elimination tag team match . Sheffield eliminated both John Morrison and R - Truth from the match before becoming the third member of the Nexus to be eliminated . Ultimately , the Nexus lost the match . On August 18 , during a live event in Honolulu , Hawaii , Reeves broke his ankle in a tag team match with David Otunga against The Hart Dynasty . Reeves then underwent extensive surgery after breaking his ankle , with a third surgery being his last . Reeves returned from injury at a " Raw " house show on December 3 , 2011 . Feed Me More ( 2012 – 2013 ) . Reeves , now sporting a beard and a new attire , returned to television on the April 6 , 2012 , episode of " SmackDown " , under his Ryback ring name and as a face . Over the following weeks , he would squash jobbers , as well as more established wrestlers like Heath Slater and Derrick Bateman . At Extreme Rules , he made his pay - per - view debut as a singles competitor when he defeated two more jobbers ( Aaron Relic and Jay Hatton ) in under two minutes . At Over the Limit , Ryback defeated Camacho in another squash match . On July 3 during The Great American Bash episode of " SmackDown " , he defeated Curt Hawkins to continue his winning streak . After defeating Tyler Reks the following week on " SmackDown " , Ryback defeated both Hawkins and Reks in a handicap match at Money in the Bank and again during Ryback ' s " Raw " redebut on the August 6 episode . On the July 27 " SmackDown " , Ryback began his first feud since returning to the main roster against Jinder Mahal , after Mahal lost via countout instead of continuing to wrestle . Ryback faced Mahal in a rematch on August 3 " SmackDown " , but won via disqualification after Mahal struck him with a microphone . On the August 24 " SmackDown " , Ryback finally defeated Mahal via pinfall and did so again on the September 3 " Raw " . After defeating the Intercontinental Champion The Miz in a non - title match on the September 24 " Raw " , Ryback confronted the WWE Champion CM Punk at the end of the show after Punk attacked Mick Foley . On the next two episodes of " Raw " , Ryback again confronted Punk after he threatened Jim Ross during an " Appreciation Night " segment honoring Ross , and after he brawled with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon . McMahon then declared Punk must choose to defend the WWE Championship against Ryback or John Cena at Hell in a Cell , and if he refused , McMahon would choose for him . On the October 15 " Raw " , Cena willingly backed out of challenging Punk in favor of supporting Ryback as Punk ' s opponent at Hell in a Cell . On October 28 at the pay - per - view , Ryback ' s thirty - eight match undefeated streak was broken by Punk due to a low blow and fast count by referee Brad Maddox . After the match , Ryback attacked Maddox and hit Punk with the " Shell Shocked " on top of the cell . The following night on " Raw " , Ryback was named as the final member of Mick Foley ' s team to face CM Punk ' s team at Survivor Series . The next week , Ryback and John Cena were booked in a Triple Threat match for Punk ' s WWE Championship at the pay - per - view instead . On the November 13 " Raw " , Ryback gained revenge against Brad Maddox by squashing him in a match before throwing him into an ambulance , thus denying Maddox a chance at joining the WWE roster as a wrestler . On November 18 at Survivor Series , Ryback was unsuccessful in the championship match after he was attacked by Seth Rollins , Dean Ambrose , and Roman Reigns , who powerbomb ed him through the announce table , allowing Punk to pin Cena and retain the title . The following night on " Raw " , Ryback was again attacked by Rollins , Ambrose , and Reigns , now collectively known as The Shield , before they again powerbombed him through the announce table after Ryback attempted to attack Punk while he was celebrating his year - long reign as WWE Champion . On the November 26 " Raw " , Ryback demanded another opportunity at the WWE Championship , with Vickie Guerrero finally relenting and giving him the title match at . Later that night , Ryback attacked Punk with a ladder and chair before finally powerbomb ing him through a table . Punk suffered a legitimate knee injury during to the attack , and the title match was postponed . Ryback was instead paired with the WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No ( Daniel Bryan and Kane ) to compete against The Shield in a six - man Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match , where The Shield was victorious . The following night on " Raw " during the 2012 Slammy Awards , Ryback won three Slammy Award s for Newcomer of the Year , Crowd Chant of the Year , and # Trending Now . On the January 7 , 2013 " Raw " , Ryback again failed to capture the WWE Championship from Punk in a Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match , after The Shield interfered and powerbombed Ryback through a table on top of the ring steps . On January 27 at the Royal Rumble , Ryback entered the Royal Rumble match as the thirtieth and final entrant and eliminated five superstars before being the last man eliminated by John Cena . Ryback would then resume his rivalry with The Shield on the February 4 " Raw " , when he teamed up with John Cena and Sheamus to attack the stable . This culminated in a six - man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber , where The Shield emerged victorious when Seth Rollins pinned Ryback for the win . The following night on " Raw " , Ryback and Sheamus teamed up with Chris Jericho to face The Shield in a rematch , but were again defeated . Ryback then began a feud with Mark Henry after several non - verbal confrontations led to them attacking Drew McIntyre with their finishing moves in an attempt to one - up each other . On the March 15 " SmackDown " , Ryback defeated Henry via disqualification following interference from The Shield . Afterwards , Henry delivered the " World ' s Strongest Slam " to Ryback three times in a row . Ryback and Henry competed in a Bench Press Challenge on the March 29 " SmackDown " , where Ryback tied Henry at 53 reps after Henry choked him with the weight . On April 7 at WrestleMania 29 , Ryback was defeated by Henry in a singles match . RybAxel ( 2013 – 2014 ) . The following night on " Raw " , Ryback saved WWE Champion John Cena from a post - match assault by Mark Henry before attacking Cena himself . The following week on " Raw " , Ryback explained his attack on Cena as stepping out from his shadow and getting revenge for Cena not having his back against The Shield ; Ryback got a measure of revenge later that night , by allowing the Shield to attack Cena . After becoming the number one contender to the WWE Championship , Ryback continued his feud with Cena by attacking him on several occasions while also having confrontations with The Shield . Ryback received his title opportunity in a Last Man Standing match on May 19 at Extreme Rules , however , the match ended in a no - contest after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp . The following night on " Raw " , Ryback entered the arena in an ambulance and challenged Cena to an ambulance match for the WWE Championship at the first - ever Payback pay - per - view . The following week on " Raw " , Cena accepted Ryback ' s challenge , but announced their match would instead be a 3 Stages of Hell match ; the first fall a lumberjack match , the second a tables match and the third an ambulance match . At the pay - per - view on June 16 , Ryback won the lumberjack match , but went on to lose both the tables and ambulance matches and his shot at the WWE Championship . Ryback then began feuding with Chris Jericho , which led to a singles match on July 14 at Money in the Bank , where Ryback emerged victorious . In August , Ryback debuted a new gimmick , where he began bullying various backstage workers . Also as part of the gimmick , Ryback would back away from fighting opponents of equal size and taking advantage of smaller and vulnerable opponents . On September 15 at Night of Champions , Ryback aligned himself with Paul Heyman after helping him defeat CM Punk . Despite being a bully himself , Ryback claimed he hated bullies and vowed to stop CM Punk and anyone else who acted as such . On October 6 at WWE Battleground , Ryback was defeated by Punk in a singles match following a low blow from Punk . On October 27 at Hell in a Cell , Ryback and Heyman were defeated by Punk in a 2 - on - 1 handicap Hell in a Cell match . The feud ended the following night on " Raw " , when Punk defeated Ryback in a Street Fight match after forcing him to submit to the " Anaconda Vise " , marking Ryback ' s first ever submission loss . On the November 11 episode of " Raw " , the alliance between Ryback and Heyman came to an end when Heyman verbally berated him . On November 24 at Survivor Series , Ryback was defeated by the returning Mark Henry after he answered Ryback ' s open challenge . Ryback then began a tag team with fellow former Paul Heyman Guy Curtis Axel collectively labelled as " Rybaxel " , and on the December 6 episode of " SmackDown " , they defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non title match to earn a shot at the titles . Rybaxel received their title shot on December 15 at , but were defeated by Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a four - way elimination match , also involving Big Show / Rey Mysterio and The Real Americans ( Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger ) . RybAxel received another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 6 , 2014 , at the WrestleMania XXX pre - show , but were defeated by defending champions The Usos in a fatal four - way elimination match , which also included Los Matadores and The Real Americans . At Payback , Rybaxel defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a tag team match . At Money in the Bank , RybAxel lost to Goldust and Stardust . On July 2 , it was announced that Ryback and Axel would be competing for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship in an over the top battle royal at Battleground , but neither Ryback or Axel managed to win . On August 26 , 2014 , Ryback underwent hernia surgery . Return , and Intercontinental Championship ( 2014 – 2016 ) . Ryback returned on the October 27 edition of " Raw " , as a face , defeating Bo Dallas . On the November 10 edition of " Raw " , Ryback joined Team Authority by attacking Cena , thus teasing a heel turn . However , this was later proven to be a ruse when he attacked Team Authority and defected to Team Cena . Ryback was eliminated by Rusev , but Team Cena won the match , putting The Authority out of power . Ryback defeated Team Authority member Kane in a Chairs match at TLC . After Seth Rollins coaxed Cena to bring The Authority back into power , Ryback , along with Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler , were ( kayfabe ) fired by Triple H on the January 5 episode of Raw as punishment for insubordination , but they were re - hired after Cena defeated Rollins , Kane and Big Show in a handicap match on the January 19 episode of Raw . On the January 22 episode of SmackDown , Ryback defeated Rusev via count - out to earn a spot in the Royal Rumble match , where he was eliminated by Big Show and Kane . At Fastlane , he teamed with Rowan and Ziggler in a six - man tag team match against Rollins , Big Show and Kane , but lost . Ryback participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31 , but was eliminated by the eventual winner , Big Show . On the Raw following Extreme Rules , Ryback was attacked by Bray Wyatt ( who sent a series of mysterious promos aimed at Ryback weeks prior ) , leading to a match at Payback , which Ryback lost . At Elimination Chamber , Ryback won the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship , his first title in WWE , by defeating Sheamus , Dolph Ziggler , King Barrett , Mark Henry and R - Truth in an Elimination Chamber match . The following night , before Ryback was scheduled to make his first title defense against The Miz , Big Show attacked Miz and confronted Ryback , starting a feud between the two . At Money in the Bank , Big Show defeated Ryback by disqualification after Miz attacked him ; Ryback retained the title as a result . It was later announced that that Ryback would defend the title against Big Show and Miz in a triple threat match at Battleground . However , Ryback would suffer an injury , cancelling the match . Ryback retained against Big Show and The Miz at Summerslam , but would lose the title to Kevin Owens at Night Of Champions . Ryback would unsuccessfully challenge Owens in a rematch at Hell in a Cell . Ryback would enter a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match , teaming with the Lucha Dragons and the Usos against The New Day and Sheamus and King Barrett . Ryback , Jey Uso , and Kalisto would become the remaining survivors . Ryback would reenter a feud with Rusev , whom he lost to at TLC . Ryback would enter the 2016 Royal Rumble Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at # 9 , but was eliminated . Ryback would align with Big Show and Kane against The Wyatt Family at Fastlane , which the Titans won . However , the next night in a rematch , The Titans lost when Ryback left Big Show and Kane , turning heel . Ryback feuded with Kalisto over the United States Championship , which Ryback was unsuccessful twice at Wrestlemania 32 and WWE Payback . On August 5 , 2016 , Reeves confirmed on his Instagram that he and WWE had parted ways . Independent circuit ( 2016 – present ) . Immediately after announcing his WWE departure , Reeves announced via his Instagram that he will be taking independent bookings . On August 25 , Reeves debuted as The Big Guy in a match for Northeast Wrestling , at NEW Rumble In Rockland , where he defeated Kenny Bengal . It was next announced that Reeves would be wrestling at WrestlePro on October 14 , 2016 , under his new ring name as The Big Guy . On this date , he won the WrestlePro Tag Team Championship with Pat Buck , when they defeated The Heavenly Bodies ( Desirable Dustin & Gigolo Justin ) . On October 15 ' s edition of WrestlePro , The Big Guy wrestled Dan Maff to a No - Contest finish . On the November 19 edition of WrestlePro Reeves wrestled as Ryback , teaming with Brother Nero , Matt Hardy and Pat Buck in defeating the team of Buster Jackson , Chris Payne & The Heavenly Bodies ( Desirable Dustin & Gigolo Justin ) . On November 5 , The Big Guy debuted in MCW Pro Wrestling ' s MCW Autumn Armageddon Tour where he defeated newcomer Big Sean Studd . On November 26 , The Big Guy debuted in WrestleCade at WrestleCade 2016 - The Final 3 Count , he unsuccessfully challenged fellow WWE alumni Matt Hardy in a title match for the WrestleCade Championship . During December 2016 , Reeves appeared in Preston City Wrestling , where he headlined the beginning of the PCW The Feed Me More Tour , defeating Adrian McCallum during night one . On night two of the tour , The Big Guy defeated Iestyn Rees by disqualification . On night three , The Big Guy defeated the British powerhouse Johnny Moss . Reeves continued his UK tour during the course of December , with matches in 4 Front Wrestling ( 4FW ) , defeating JD Knight at 4FW We 3 Kings 2016 , Revolution Pro Wrestling ( RevPro ) defeating The Legion Of Lords ( Gideon Grey & Rishi Ghosh ) at RevPro Live In Portsmouth 6 . Ryback returned to North America on January 22 , 2017 for the DWW Carnage - 2 Year Anniversary Show where he defeated TNA star Moose . Personal life . Reeves continues to reside in his native Las Vegas , Nevada . On September 22 , 2016 , Reeves announced that he was successful in legally changing his first name from " Ryan " to " Ryback " , thus allowing him to use the Ryback ring name following his departure from WWE .