Ryan Reeves
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| Ryan Allen Reeves | |||
| |||
| Ring Names | Ryback "Silverback" Ryan Reeves Skip Sheffield | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Weight | 291 lbs (132 kg) | ||
| Born | November 10 1981 | ||
| Las Vegas, Nevada | |||
| Died | |||
| Resides | Louisville, Kentucky | ||
| Billed | Sin City | ||
| Trained by | William DeMott Al Snow | ||
| Debut | 2004 | ||
| Retired | |||
Ryan Reeves (November 10, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, wrestling under the ring name Ryback. 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 Deep South Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. and Ohio Valley Wrestling from 2005 to 2007. During that time, he formed a tag team with Jon Bolen called High Dosage. He also participated in the first season of NXT in early 2010 under the ring name Skip Sheffield.
| MAGAZINE COVERS | EVENT HISTORY | TOYS | IMAGES |
Contents |
Before wrestling
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Reeves started watching wrestling at the age of five and was allowed to ring the bell at a live WWF event. Wanting to become a professional wrestler, Reeves began weight lifting at 12 years old. He was nicknamed "Silverback" as a teenager, whom a childhood friend joked that he resembled a silverback 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 played college baseball during his freshman year at the Community College of Southern Nevada, however he broke his foot and ended up missing two seasons.
Professional wrestling career
Tough Enough (2004)
Reeves spent the next two years concentrating on bodybuilding 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 Reeves lost, he impressed WWE officials enough for them to sign him to a developmental contract. He would spend some time back in Las Vegas healing from his injuries before heading to Atlanta in March 2005.
Deep South Wrestling (2005–2006)
Reeves started training at Deep South Wrestling, a professional wrestling school located in McDonough, Georgia. On September 1, 2005, he made his official debut in a tag team match with Lash LeRoux against Team Elite (Derrick Neikirk and Mike Knox) at the premiere show for DSW. During the next several weeks, he would team with Jack Bull, Ryan O'Reilly, Mike Mizanin and Nick Mitchell against tag teams including Team Elite, The Regulators and The Slaughter Brothers.
He began wrestling single matches a month later against Mike Shane, Mike Knox and Palmer Cannon. On November 23, he entered a championship tournament for the DSW Heavyweight Championship and eliminated by Mac Johnson in the opening rounds. He also lost to Freakin' Deacon on December 17. Several days later, he wrestled two matches in one night. The first was a tag team match with Damian Steele against The Regulators and the second was a singles match against Mike Knox, both matches he lost.
In January 2006, he formed a short-lived tag team with Ryan O'Reilly and faced Team Elite and The Gymini. Before the team could gain momentum, the WWE transferred Reeves from Deep South Wrestling, to Ohio Valley Wrestling two months later. Reeves wrestled his last match losing to Freakin' Deacon on February 26, 2006.
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Training (2005-2006)
After training in DSW for most of 2005 and early 2006, Reeves arrived in Ohio Valley Wrestling in early March. He defeated Kasey James, Pat Buck, Da Beast and Nick Nemeth in dark matches during his two months and, with Mikey Batts, won victories over the teams of Billy Kryptonite and Russell Simpson, and Jack Bull and Vic Devine.
On May 10, Reeves teamed with Tag Team Champions Kasey James and Roadkill to defeat Aaron Stevens and Deuce 'n Domino at an OVW television taping. Three days later, he and Mikey Batts lost to Kasey James and Roadkill in a title match. He later broke his thumb after throwing a punch, which sidelined him for almost a month. On June 17, Reeves made his return as he teamed with Cody Runnels, Shawn Spears and Elijah Burke to defeat Los Locos and Deuce 'n Domino in an 8-man tag team match.
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, who together 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 the latter 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 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. In April, it was announced that Reeves would be starring in an upcoming film called Som Tum with Todd Shane and Nathan Jones. Reeves would make one final appearance in which he and Pat Buck lost to Colt Cabana and Shawn Spears in a match for the DSW Tag Team Title on November 14, 2007.
Brief return (2008)
After being absent from Ohio Valley Wrestling for over a year, Reeves returned to the promotion. After several months, Reeves, now renamed Ryback, debuted as a Terminator type of character and subsequently won the Heavyweight Championship on September 15 after defeating Anthony Bravado. Ryback held the title for two weeks before losing it back to Bravado on September 29. After losing the title, Reeves was re-signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. To explain his departure from OVW, Ryback lost a Loser Leaves OVW match to Bravado.
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 television debut on October 25 under the new ring name Skip Sheffield, a cowboy character, where he defeated Jimmy Uso.
NXT, The Nexus and Injury (2010-2011)
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 of NXT, where he teamed with Regal in a losing effort against Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel. On the April 27 episode of NXT,Sheffield picked up his first victory with a win over Daniel Bryan. However, on May 11, despite an earlier win over Darren Young, in the first NXT elimination poll, Skip Sheffield was eliminated by the Pros. He was one of three eliminations behind Bryan and Michael Tarver, and he made a comment that said he will be back.
On the June 7 edition 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. 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 edition of 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 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, Sheffield broke his ankle in a tag team match with David Otunga against The Hart Dynasty. It was later mentioned in reliable sources that "Vince has big plans for Sheffield". On May 8, 2011 Skip wrote on his Twitter:
"First and last update since so many of you have been kind to ask. Things have been extremely complicated with the injury and it was..."
"... Much more than just a broken ankle and leg. It has been the most positive experience of my life and I promise you I will return very soon..."
"... Bigger and badder than anything you have ever seen. Nobody is going to stop me from achieving what I have set out to do."
Return from injury, undefeated streak and feud with CM Punk and The Shield (2012)
Reeves returned and defeated Heath Slater in a dark match prior to Raw. On the January 6 tapings of SmackDown, Reeves reverted to his old ring name Ryback and defeated Jimmy Uso in a dark match. Reeves, now sporting a beard and a new attire, returned to television on the April 6 episode of SmackDown under his Ryback ring name and as a face, where over the following weeks he would continuously squash jobbers, while also picking up wins against established wrestlers such as 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 nearly 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 episode of 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 episode of SmackDown, but won via disqualification after Mahal struck him with a microphone. On the August 24 episode of SmackDown, Ryback finally defeated Mahal via pinfall and did so again on the September 3 episode of Raw.
After defeating the Intercontinental Champion The Miz in a non-title match on the September 24 episode of Raw, Ryback confronted 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 that Punk would have to choose either Ryback or John Cena to defend the WWE Championship against at Hell in a Cell on October 28, and if Punk refused, McMahon would pick for him. On the October 15 episode of Raw, Cena willingly backed out of challenging Punk in favor of supporting Ryback as Punk's opponent at Hell in a Cell. At Hell in a Cell, Ryback's undefeated streak was broken by Punk due to a low blow and fast count by referee Brad Maddox. After the match, Ryback would attack Maddox and proceed to perform the Shell Shocked to Punk 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 on November 18. The following week, however, Ryback, along with John Cena, would be booked in a triple threat match for Punk's WWE Championship at the pay-per-view instead. On the November 13 episode of Raw, Ryback gained revenge against 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. At Survivor Series, Ryback would be unsuccessful in winning the championship after being attacked by the Shield (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns), who proceeded to powerbomb Ryback into the announce table, which allowed Punk to pin Cena and retain the title. On the November 19 episode of Raw, Ryback was again attacked by Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns before they powerbombed him through the announce table yet again after Ryback attempted to attack Punk while he was celebrating his year-long reign as WWE Champion. After a win against Titus O'Neil on the November 26th edition of Raw, Ryback demanded to have another shot at the WWE Championship, finally Vickie Guerrero gave him the shot at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Later that night, Ryback tried to assault the three men to save Team Hell No, but to no avail. Due to Ryback injuring CM Punk on the November 26 episode of Raw, Punk was unable to compete at TLC, then being booked to team with Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) to take on The Shield. At the event Ryback's team lost when Roman Reigns pinned Daniel Bryan, although Ryback did manage to throw Seth Rollins off a ladder through a stack of tables. The next night at the Slammy Awards Ryback won Newcomer of the Year, Crowd Chant of the Year, and #Trending Now. At the 2013 Royal Rumble Ryback entered at #30, making it to the final two before being eliminated by John Cena.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- As Ryback
- Running One-Legged muscle buster[1]
- Shell Shocked (2012 - Present)
- As Ryback
- As Skip Sheffield
- Over The Shoulder Boulder Holder (Backpack stunner)
- Running high-impact clothesline
- As Ryan Reeves
- Silverback Attack (Vertical suplex powerslam pin)
- As Skip Sheffield
- Signature moves
- Nicknames
- "Ryback"
- "Silverback"
- "The Cornfed Meathead"
- "Big Hungry"
- Managers
- William Regal - NXT Season 1
- Wade Barrett - Nexus
- Entrance themes
- "Wild & Young" by American Bang (Used while on NXT by himself or while with the other NXT Rookies; March 2-May 11, 2010)
- "We Are One" by 12 Stones (Used while a part of the Nexus; June 7-August 18, 2010)
- "Meat" by Jim Johnston (April 6, 2012 - August 10, 2012)
- "Meat On The Table" (August 13, 2012 - Present)
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Feud of the Year (2010) – The Nexus vs. WWE
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) – as part of The Nexus
- PWI ranked him #112 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2012
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Slammy Award for the Shocker of the Year (2010) - The debut of The Nexus.
- Slammy Award for Newcomer of the Year (2012)
- Slammy Award for Crowd Chant of the Year (2012) - Feed Me More!
- Slammy Award for #Trending Now (2012) #FeedMeMore
See also
External links
References
- ↑ PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 4/6: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio.
| The Nexus |
|---|
| Members |
| CM Punk • David Otunga • Husky Harris • Mason Ryan • Michael McGillicutty • Skip Sheffield • Daniel Bryan • Darren Young • Heath Slater • John Cena • Justin Gabriel • Michael Tarver • Wade Barrett |
| NXT Seasons |
|---|
| Season 1 |
| Daniel Bryan • Darren Young • David Otunga • Heath Slater • Justin Gabriel • Michael Tarver • Skip Sheffield • Wade Barrett |
| Season 2 |
| Alex Riley • Eli Cottonwood • Husky Harris • Kaval • Lucky Cannon • Michael McGillicutty • Percy Watson • Titus O'Neil |
| Season 3 |
| AJ Lee • Aksana • Jamie Keyes • Kaitlyn • Maxine • Naomi Night |
| Season 4 |
| Brodus Clay • Byron Saxton • Conor O'Brian • Derrick Bateman • Jacob Novak • Johnny Curtis |
| Redemption |
| Byron Saxton • Conor O'Brian • Darren Young • Jacob Novak • Lucky Cannon • Titus O'Neil • Derrick Bateman |
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