Everyone has seen it. Attend any independent wrestling event, and a good amount of them will have one buff, tanned, and toned guy sitting in the front row. You may not see him initially, but when you lay your eyes on the mammoth, you—along with everyone else—will think the same thing… “Why isn’t that guy in the ring?” Well one did, and he’s one of the Internet Wrestling Community’s biggest gripes: Batista—whoops—I mean Mason Ryan.
Previous to his days in the ring, Ryan (real name: Barri Griffiths) had a brief career in soccer in his home county of Wales, but that was cut short by a knee injury (wait, are you sure this isn’t Batista?). Then, he became the typical guy I described earlier. For whatever reason, the big man attended an indy event in 2006, and received immense attention from the fans and promoters alike. The promoter recommended he get into the business, and he was training in England in no time.
Ryan began his career in the ring in 2007, and toured the world showing off his physical prowess and clunky wrestling style. After only two years between the ropes—and a stint on the UK show Gladiators—Ryan’s impressive physique was noticed by more than just an indy crowd. In mid-2009, he put his name on the dotted line of a WWE contract.
The internet fans quickly got wind of the signing, and exploded shortly thereafter when they saw what the dude looked like. “He’s a Batista clone, he has no experience! Vince McMahon has a fetish for buff guys!” they all said in unison, like an organized textual riot. For months, Ryan struggled to get a work Visa, so many simply forget about the acquisition. When he finally acquired a Visa in 2010, he was back page news. Ryan quietly plowed through FCW, winning the Heavyweight Title within just over six months of his debut.
Fast forward to January 17th of this year. During the main event of RAW, which pitted John Cena against the then-leader of the New Nexus CM Punk, Ryan made his WWE debut, joining the New Nexus and bearing a striking resemblance to Bluto from Popeye. Bluto’s matches that followed were far from good; he seemed too damn buff and could hardly move around. He dwarfed the rest of the members, including their boss. Surprisingly,
the internet reacted better than expected. If he was used as an enforcer and only an enforcer, the IWC didn’t mind him. And for a while, he was. Just when he found a little niche, he got injured. Ba-tis-ta! Ba-tis-ta!
On September 8th, Ryan made his randomly triumphant return to the WWE, convincingly crushing JTG on WWE Superstars. This time, though, was different. No longer was Ryan an enforcer, no longer was the New Nexus even around, and no longer was he a heel. He was what the majority of the IWC seems to hate; a buff, slow, babyface.
Since then, Ryan has caught an incredible amount of flack. The fact that he entered the arena in an oddly Y2J-esque way upon his return didn’t do him any favors with the IWC. At one point, Ryan even took the TV time of Zack Ryder in a 12-man tag, another mortal sin. The WWE seemed to love the guy, and continued to put him on our TV screens. They shot him into the United States Title scene, and at one point it seemed like he was destined to win the belt. While his involvement in the US Title scene may be temporally dying down, WWE’s liking for him has not. He recently gave JTG more bumps and bruises, once again squashing him on this past RAW.
My opinion of Batistwo? Give the guy a chance. With some fine tuning, the dude could be an absolute monster. He isn’t like the other mastodon physical specimens with little experience that come and go in the WWE; he actually seems to care. The guy seems to enjoy himself out there, and with dedication and somebody to talk for him he could easily be that big, Sid Viscous type guy who gets by with intensity and power.
I do have some advice for the WWE: don’t make him a good guy. He isn’t exactly CM Punk on the mic, and in order to be a successful babyface you need to at least hold your own in a verbal battle. I can’t see Mason Ryan doing that, just like his twin, Batista, couldn’t as a face. What I can see is an angry, heel Mason Ryan arriving, destroying, and winning titles. No pandering to the crowd, no microphone in his hand, just that massive frame of his destroying all challengers. With build-up, it could easily pave the way for another “Irresistible Force versus the Immovable Object”. Hey, John Cena needs another challenger when he inevitably wins the WWE Championship sooner or later.
Did I mention this guy kind of looks like Batista?
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Agreed that he could be this generations Psycho Sid as Sid pretty much did the same for WWF crowds back in the day. I don’t think anyone ever took him seriously even when he was Champion. Mason Ryan will probably be the same. But I do agree we should give him a chance to see what he can do as a heel. This face push is just weird.
I do not have a problem with Mason Ryan the person. I don’t like that he looks like Batista with hair, but it’s not his fault he looks like Batista. My problem is that WWE has a Wellness Policy. It should be discouraging physiques that look like they were created in a doctor’s prescription pad and not in a gym. I am very offended that somebody like Evan Bourne can be suspended for using synthetic pot, but this roidhead gets to be pushed to the moon on tv. I’m not giving him a chance as long as he looks like a juicehead.
I don’t think he does look like Batista.. only similarity is the physique…! and second, Wales is not a county its a Country! and if he was on roids, i’m sure he would have failed a drug test by now, and it is possible to be big without Roids, I know big guys who are’nt on roids… the guy is 6″6 for crying out loud.