Ryback Will Be Rejuvenated by Apparent Babyface Turn

Ryback, healthy for the first time in months, emerged from the curtains in San Antonio to the kind of fervent reactions that he heard in the early stages of his career.

Monday's WWE Raw was a rebirth for Ryback. He returned from injury, a babyface once more, with an opportunity to rewrite a story that fell apart as it reached its climax last time around.

WWE first thrust him onto the scene as an unstoppable force, a man who tore through his opposition untouched. The reprise of Goldberg, undefeated streak and all, caught on. "Feed me more!" chants filled arenas every week. 

Rushing him into the main event and failing to get much out of his feud with John Cena other than loss of momentum hurt him.

The next leg of his journey saw him and Curtis Axel occupy the bottom of the tag team division. They had lost eight straight TV bouts before Ryback's surgery and hadn't strung together two wins since June, per CageMatch.net. The duo even lost to Roman Reigns despite a two-on-one advantage during that stretch.

A few months removed, a babyface turn and a hot crowd later, and it's as if Ryback has cleansed himself of the stink of mediocrity.

Bo Dallas issued an open challenge, and when Ryback answered it, the fans inside the AT&T Center welcomed the powerhouse back with cheers and chants. As he dominated Dallas, it felt as if we had traveled back in time, back to when Ryback was the bulldozer who had a chance to be the next big thing.

It appears the "distance makes the heart grow fonder" adage applies to midcarders as well.

Ryback returns at a favorable time. The roster's lack of depth opens the door that he'll have to charge through.

CM Punk (quit), Daniel Bryan (injured), Roman Reigns (injured), Alberto Del Rio (fired), Bad News Barrett (injured), Rob Van Dam (on hiatus) and Chris Jericho (being a rock star) aren't in his way at the moment. 

WWE is going to need some top-level babyfaces, and its choices are limited right now. That alone ups Ryback's chances of success. 

Beyond that, his time away has allowed him to push reset on the game he was struggling with and start anew.

After trouncing Dallas, it felt like Ryback was rerunning the track he began on. WWE can work him back up the ladder amid the sound of "Feed me more!" chants. It worked up until a point last time around.  

During the summer, talk of Ryback doing anything other than being fodder for tag teams would just sound like fantasy. With one victory, the conversation has shifted.

Wade Keller of PWTorch was one of many people bringing up the idea of Ryback's taking on Brock Lesnar:

What most promises to have The Big Guy's trek be different this time around is that he has added a new dimension to his game. He has gone from a clunky mic worker to a far more charismatic figure.

Whether this change came by way of his opportunities opposite Cena, hard work or just added experience, he's a more compelling talker now.

He showed off his refined skills as he drifted off in his hospital bed and in his first promo back. In an interview with Eden, he talked about what he's learned and how he's grown. He told her, "The WWE Universe needs a hero, now more than ever."

Compare that to the grunting, one-dimensional version of Ryback who first went on a winning streak, and it's easy to buy into his chances of having a far more successful babyface run this time.

On his own once more and reverted back to fan-favorite status, Ryback 2.0 is underway.