American professional wrestler Ryback, who was originally signed to WWE, competes now on independent circuits. Ryback was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and at the age of 12, he began working out in a gym. His drive to have a chiseled physique kept him going throughout his adolescence. He made an appearance on the World Wrestling Entertainment-produced reality series “Tough Enough” in 2004’s fourth season. Even though he lost, he made it to the finals and dazzled the WWE recruiters enough to secure a developmental deal. He was also dispatched to compete in WWE’s developmental leagues like Florida Championship Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling, and Deep South Wrestling. He made his major WWE debut on the main roster in the same year that he made his NXT debut under the ring name Skip Sheffield. He occasionally wrestled on both Raw and SmackDown, participated in a number of pay-per-view matches, and tried numerous times to win the WWE Title but was never successful. He only succeeded in winning an Intercontinental Title throughout his time with WWE, and in 2016, he announced his departure from the company.
Early Childhood & Life
On November 10, 1981, Ryan Allen Reeves, the son of a middle-class Polish family, was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. When he was 8 years old and had the opportunity to ring the bell in a World Wrestling Federation match, his initial interest in bodybuilding and wrestling was sparked. He began watching professional wrestling at about the same time and became hooked by it.
When he was 12 years old, he had another opportunity to ring the bell during a WWF event, which piqued his curiosity even more. At such a young age, he started spending hours in the gym working out on his own. In response to his friends referring to him as a “gorilla” after he gained some weight a few years later, Ryback eventually took the name “silverback” and made it a part of his ring name in the WWE.
Ryback started participating in the athletic teams at his school. He participated in a variety of sports, but baseball remained his favorite. He played baseball for the teams at Western High School and Palo Verde High School, respectively. He was so proficient at it that he once considered playing professional baseball due to his skill.
Ryback began attending Community College of Southern Nevada after completing high school. He continued to play baseball there, but due to an injury he sustained in his first year, he was forced to forgo the next two seasons. After the disaster, he enrolled in the fitness management program at the University of Nevada and began attending.
After earning his college degree, he began working at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino while continuing his fitness regimen to be in shape for his upcoming career as a professional wrestler. He submitted a one-minute clip to WWE’s “Tough Enough” in 2004 and was selected as one of the 50 contestants to appear on the program.
Ryback’s Career
His path to fame turned out to be being chosen for “Tough Enough.” He was picked as one of the eight finalists to compete on SmackDown despite having illnesses and injuries in the first week of his entry into the competition. He was also the last finalist to be eliminated. He sufficiently impressed the show’s producers to persuade them to give him a developmental contract. Ryback spent some time in Georgia getting ready to make his professional wrestling debut as Ryback Allen Reeves before moving on to the WWE developing territories.
Ryback competed in Deep South Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling for the first few months of his developmental contract. He failed the WWE drug test in 2006, which resulted in a month-long suspension. He acknowledged using a bodybuilding supplement, though it was legal at the time. A few weeks later, the substance was mysteriously outlawed.
He subsequently went to compete in few matches in the Ohio Valley Wrestling. took a sabbatical from OVW in 2008 and then made a brief comeback under the ring name Ryback. He fought Anthony Bravado to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship in October of that same year. He once beat Anthony to successfully defend his title, but later that month he lost it.
Ryback then made his debut with Florida Championship Wrestling, where he lost two consecutive tag team matches. It was reported in February 2010 that he would be one of the eight ECW wrestlers to appear on WWE’s next program, “NXT.”
He started out by losing in a tag team match, but in April 2010 he made his singles debut and defeated Daniel Bryan. In addition, Ryback and a number of his fellow NXT teammates interrupted a bout between John Cena and CM Punk on June 7’s RAW broadcast to announce the entrance of their organization, The Nexus.
When they competed against one another in a seven-on-seven elimination match at SummerSlam 2010, Team WWE and The Nexus’ feud came to a head. Ryback injured his ankle in August after The Nexus lost the bout, which prevented him from competing in professional wrestling the next year.
When he made a comeback in April 2012, this time on SmackDown, he triumphed as a better fighter and won several of his earlier battles while still unbeaten. In August 2012, he made a comeback to Raw and started a conflict with Jinder Mahal. In the end, Ryback repeatedly defeated Mahal, but Jinder’s shrewdness prevented him from winning handily. He made the decision to target CM Punk, the current WWE Champion, in September.
Ryback had the opportunity to win the championship in a pay-per-view “Hell in a Cell” match in October, but he was defeated by Punk. He also stood up against The Shield, the wrestling organization that had been terrorizing wrestlers and getting away with it, alongside John Cena and Sheamus. The group was defeated in an “Elimination Chamber” match by The Shield.
Ryback and Chris Jericho started fighting in 2013, and in a match at “Money in the Bank” in July, Ryback triumphed over Jericho. He continued to have conflicts with a number of other superstars, including CM Punk and Mark Henry. He competed in tag teams for most of 2014, and among his biggest rivalries were with John Cena, Kane, and Bray Wyatt.
He won the vacant Intercontinental Championship in the 2014 “Elimination Chamber” match after defeating Sheamus and Mark Henry, among other wrestlers. Ryback recovered his championship in the weeks that followed by defeating The Miz and The Big Show, but in September he lost it to Kevin Owens.
Ryback competed in a 16-round tournament for the World Heavyweight Championship in November, but Calisto submitted him in the opening round. Also, it sparked a minor dispute between the two. A major WWE title was Ryback’s goal for the following two years, but he was unsuccessful in all of his tries. A contract disagreement caused Ryback to be sacked from WWE in May 2016. Ryback competed in Northeast Wrestling, Wrestlepro, and Combat Zone Wrestling after being fired.
Ryback’s Individual Life
Throughout his ring battles, Ryback has frequently been compared to Goldberg. He responded by saying he would dearly love to wrestle Goldberg someday. The Undertaker was another wrestler he fervently desired a match with.
Ryback wed Melissa Reeves, his longtime lover, in 2014.
Estimated Net Worth
One of the wealthiest and most well-known wrestlers is Ryback. Ryback has a $5 million net worth, per our analysis of data from sources including Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.