United States Champion Kalisto may be nine inches shorter and 120 pounds lighter than Ryback, but that hasn’t stopped The King of Flight from accepting The Big Guy’s challenge to a title match at WrestleMania.
In setting his sights on Kalisto and the U.S. Title, Ryback has invoked an age-old question: Can a good little man beat a good big man?
WWE’s insatiable smasher insists that the bigger the Superstar, the larger the spotlight. Not to be lost in the debate, however, is the fact the death-defying aerialist Kalisto has toppled Ryback once before, in the first round of last November’s WWE World Heavyweight Tournament.
Of course, much has changed since then. Kalisto, who was introduced to WWE as one-half of The Lucha Dragons tag team, has since captured the stars-and-stripes title. Though he has kept his partnership with Sin Cara alive, Kalisto now spends much of his time competing in singles bouts, proudly defending his championship.
Ryback, meanwhile, has adopted a new look and new edge, and if nothing else about his identity change is clear, this much is: The 2016 Big Guy does not play well with others, having abandoned tag team partners like Kane and Big Show in recent months. He is unapologetically independent and has even gone so far as to recommend that Kalisto follow his lead and ditch his partner, Sin Cara.
What will happen when WWE’s superhero-come-to-life, the spectacular Kalisto, speeds into action against one of the strongest brawlers in WWE history, Ryback? Will The Big Guy’s new outlook pay dividends, or will Kalisto zoom past his dangerous challenger and remind the world that sheer force is not the only path to success?