During a recent episode of his podcast, Ryback revealed that Triple H once told him that John Cena was the last marquee star that the WWE would ever have. Here’s what he had to say:
That was during the initial main event run and my contract – Jane Geddes was in charge of Talent Relations and they had her handling the contracts – and they threw a sh*t offer. Horrible, especially with where we were at at the time. That was my first real, ‘What the…? Whoa!? This is the money we’re talking about at this level?’ Granted they could put anyone in those positions but we were doing really well.
I had to go talk to Hunter about the contract and we were just in a hallway somewhere in Texas. He goes, ‘Ryan, I’m just gonna tell you straight – John Cena is the last marquee name we’re ever gonna have.’ Hunter could have just been saying that to not get me a big contract… but I think he was telling me, ‘Hey, off the record, this is what this is.’
There’s a cap on things. That’s their business and the way that it is. When guys start getting too hot, they’ll cool them off and make them lose in a position where you’re scratching your head. Then they’ll get them back on track a few months later but the damage has already been done and they’re very good at that… They’re great at taking away the momentum when guys need it most.
It’s not rocket science on how to build stars. You just do what organically, naturally – who is gaining the momentum along with the push. Or if you’re not getting a monster push and getting a lot of momentum, you just go with it. Start finding situations to let that character come out. If it gets bigger, it gets bigger and if it doesn’t then it doesn’t.
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Credit: Shooting Blanks. H/T WrestlingInc.