Ryback added a bit of fuel to the fire that is Bill DeMott’s alleged hellish training.
In the second episode of his Conversation with the Big Guy podcast, the former WWE star talked about his time in developmental territories (Deep South Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling) and the early stages of his pro wrestling career. Co-host and wrestling promoter Pat Buck described the Sept. 5 edition as an origins episode.
Ryback, real name Ryan Reeves, talked about his experience with former NXT head trainer and WCW wrestler DeMott.
“Bill Demott breaks human beings down, and you have to be a man to survive Bill Demott and most people couldn’t. So, I’m grateful that he put me through the things that he did, because he made me more of a man than if I had gone through an easier system, and taught me some hard lessons. Do I agree with all of them? No, but that’s neither here nor there,” Reeves said.
During his time in developmental, WWE talent relations official John Laurinaitis met with Reeves and laid out a plan for what the company intended to do with him. According to Reeves, the plans included a main roster call up and a proposed feud with Brock Lesnar.
“I was nowhere near ready at that point in time. They put a lot of pressure on me because I realized being a fan at the time and coming in athletically, it was easy for me to pick up, but I was psychologically broken down very early on, and at that time I didn’t know how to turn the negatives into positives, and it ate away at me."
