Ryback has not been shy about his feelings for some of pro wrestling’s biggest names and lately he has been talking like someone who believes the locker room or at least the main event scene still owes him a few conversations. In recent interviews and social posts the former powerhouse has floated the idea of a return to the ring and when he does he made it clear he is not looking for nostalgia selfies or feel good exhibition matches. 

He has laid out a short, high-profile shopping list: CM Punk, Bron Breakker, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. More than a roster name drop, Ryback’s comments read like a man intent on finishing unfinished business, particularly with Punk, a feud that has history and heat behind it.

There is a bluntness to Ryback’s rhetoric that people either love or hate. He has been quoted saying he would like to “finish off Punk once and for all, shutting him the f**k up,” a line that lands like a grenade in wrestling’s current climate of carefully scripted promos and social media PR. 

Whether you take it as calculated heat building or the raw emotion of a man who still carries grudges from his career, it is hard to ignore. Ryback’s language is not just shock for shock’s sake; it signals a very specific storytelling posture: this is not a cameo; he is proposing conflict.

Why Ryback’s List Matters Now

The names Ryback mentioned are not random. CM Punk’s return to big-time wrestling over the past year has been one of the most polarizing stories in the sport. Punk has courted controversy and redemption in equal measure, even issuing a public apology at one point that generated headlines and conversation across the community. 

Ryback chiming in about Punk’s place in the business sometimes defending him sometimes showing disdain adds another layer to the ongoing Punk narrative and gives fans a fresh “what if” to argue about. In short Ryback’s comments arrive at a moment when Punk is a hot newsworthy figure again.

Similarly Bron Breakker is the up and comer many eyes are on. He has been built aggressively by WWE and has the look and athleticism that promotions covet when trying to engineer the next main event star.

Matching him against a veteran like Ryback would be pitched as a trial by fire, an old-school test for a new-school body. Meanwhile, John Cena and Roman Reigns carry cultural weight that transcends simple program logic. Cena remains a box office-friendly attraction, and Reigns is the modern face of the company’s long-term storytelling. A Ryback versus any of those men would be framed as a big event bell ringer, not a throwaway segment. However, John Cena might not be competing by the time Ryback comes back. 

Real Heat or Cheap Heat? Reading the Subtext

Talk is cheap in wrestling, and a lot of what gets said on podcasts, livestreams, and social feeds is part soap opera, part publicity. But there is nuance here worth respecting. Ryback’s career had momentum at certain points that never fully translated into long-term top-card status.

That kind of unfinished trajectory often breeds legitimate resentment and sometimes a desire to correct the record in the ring where it matters most to fans. When a former main event hopeful expresses a wish to “settle scores” it can be performance therapy or both. It becomes interesting when the opponent involved has their own headline generating stories and public controversies. That intersection is where narrative gold or combustible controversy gets made.

From a booking perspective, pitting Ryback against a babyface legend like Cena would read as David versus Goliath with a different emotional angle: Ryback’s grievances would push him toward a darker, more aggressive persona and give Cena a morally complex path to overcome.

 Against Punk the heat is more personal and raw; Ryback’s past interactions with Punk on screen and off give such a match a history that promos can mine for authenticity. With Breakker, it is a passing of the torch test. 

With Reigns and Rollins it is a collision of styles and star power. Each potential matchup would demand a different creative framing and Ryback’s blunt promise makes it clear he wants the stakes to feel real.

If we are honest, though, there is also a business calculus. Wrestling promotions love a comeback that promises heat and sells tickets or pay-per-view buys. 

Ryback naming names publicly allows promoters to decide whether the flame is hot enough to fan or whether it is better left as a social media skirmish. For fans who crave grudge matches and the old-school feel of “this is personal,” Ryback’s comments are tantalizing. 

For those who prefer narrative subtlety and long-term storytelling, they are a potential red flag for noisy, short-lived angles. Either way, it creates a buzz, and in this era, buzz can be currency.

Ryback Return Would Need to Succeed

If Ryback truly wants to walk back into a squared circle and make an impact the plan needs to be more than name dropping. He would need a storyline hook that honors the history with the opponent’s physical credibility that shows he can still go and a creative finish that belts the angle with lasting consequence.

Facing someone like Punk without a coherent narrative would risk the match being dismissed as nostalgia bait and switch. 

Facing Breakker without using his veteran savvy would be a wasted learning opportunity for the younger man. Facing Reigns or Cena would require mainstream stakes and likely a pay-per-view spotlight. Good wrestling returns earn their oxygen; they do not just demand it.

For those who follow the backstage currents, Ryback’s remarks are also a reminder that wrestling’s ecosystem still thrives on conflict, real, fabricated, or somewhere between.

The sport has always survived on personalities who provoke as much as they perform, and Ryback’s brand of provocation is an old-school blueprint: say something explosive, make people react, and then let the ring provide the answer. Whether that answer is satisfying is up to promoters, opponents, and the audience’s appetite for either redemption or retribution.

At the end of the day Ryback putting names out there does one simple thing well, it forces the conversation. Fans will argue insiders will speculate and promoters will weigh the pros and cons. 

That alone makes it an effective opening salvo. Whether it ever becomes a headline match or just another hot take on a wrestling podcast remains to be seen but there is no denying the idea of Ryback stepping back into the ring to settle scores makes for good storytelling even if you do not like the man doing the talking. Wrestlemania  could be a big possibility of this scenario.