Heel Ryback, Heel Adam Rose, Babyface Ryback and More from the Feed Me Mailbag

Ryback's recent return to WWE's radar has people talking. When did you ever think you would hear "feed me more" without smirking because that could have actually been a thing? But alas, it's a thing again.

Ryback's usage at Survivor Series and beyond will be fun to monitor as WWE attempts to resurrect its resident muscle-bound Frankenstein.

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@ThisIsNasty I think a feud between @RusevBUL and @Ryback22 would give the US title more prestige. What do you think?

— Steven Curd (@stevencurd) November 7, 2014"

Anything involving Rusev and the United States Championship would add prestige to that title. Even as he held the U.S. title, folded up the way Flair used to carry it, it just looked like a different belt.

There should always be a sense of pride and smugness that comes with an anti-American foreigner carrying the U.S. title, and Rusev has nailed it.

If you break down the five-on-five Survivor Series main event, assuming Ryback and Luke Harper eventually join Team Cena and The Authority, respectively, it's really just five feuds combined in one match. The way things line up at this point, Ryback's feud, by default, is with Kane, who was Ryback's main detractor during his short-term stint with The Authority.

Rusev and Ryback would make for an interesting match at next month's TLC pay-per-view if WWE put time into building it. A Tables match would best suit this feud as both characters are hot right now, and WWE could get out of pinning them.

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@ThisIsNasty Is Adam Rose ever going to stop being a joke?

— Chubby Alonso (@MSMasoet) November 9, 2014"

There are two answers to a question like this about Adam Rose. The short, more cynical answer is probably not. Let's face it: The man is booked to wear eye shadow and pal around with mascots.

Through the hypermasculine lenses of Vince McMahon, a WWE Superstar like that is but a marginal talent in his world. Goldust during his first run was an outlier to that otherwise rock-solid theory.

But the recent, rather sudden heel turn of Rose shows promise for the 35-year-old party boy. I've long since argued that Rose's gimmick is better suited, and more fit for character development, as a heel.

A 24-hour party person, while fun on the surface, is always bad news. People like that have demons, as do the people they attract. If Rose were a real person, we'd be able to see more of his ribcage with every passing week, and the high turnover of his Rosebuds would be because they were constantly in and out of rehab.

Rose should be preying on individuals he views as weak, unhappy or incomplete—people who need an escape. A mentally unstable AJ Lee. Natalya, dealing with marriage problems. Zack Ryder coming off the doldrums of another losing streak and now forced to deal with a long-term injury. Those are all great potential victims.

Many of the Rosebuds look like models. They really should look like failed models whose addiction issues cost them a contract with Clinique. Being a Rosebud shouldn't be part of a lighthearted catchphrase. It should be a temptation, similar to a shady friend pressuring his or her buddy to try a cigarette.

But after a wildly successful debut down in NXT, WWE appeared to get overly optimistic with the character, and he was fast-tracked to the main roster as a babyface. He's been borderline midcard comedy ever since.

With enough subtleties and vague references to the negative culture that Rose represents, WWE can take a forgettable party animal and transform him into a monster—one who haunts WWE locker rooms and lives as a dancing relic of the darker side of professional wrestling.

Ric Flair hasn't been booked correctly since his retirement angle. You don't think WWE could get mileage out of Rose enticing Flair to Naitch against his better judgment as a vehicle to introduce a concerned Charlotte?

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@ThisIsNasty Do you think the double turn of Ryback on RAW damages his career?

— Nick Buzzelli (@NickBuzzelli) November 13, 2014"

Ryback's voyage from babyface to heel, back to babyface in one three-hour show was perplexing to say the least, especially because he was a heel as recently as August.

Ryback could have enjoyed more momentum by just saying no to The Authority at the top of the show. All that physicality with John Cena will make Cena look foolish if he trusts him again, which seems to be inevitable.

Ryback's gimmick has always been a simple, effective one. He is a physical anomaly who crushes everything in sight. He has a fun catchphrase that he can get an entire arena to chant at will.

There's no need for a character like that to be nuanced with dramatic changes of heart. He just needs to beat people up and do it convincingly.

Ryback's career bottomed out during his last run, so there's really nowhere to go but up from here. But if WWE is serious about making Ryback relevant again, it has a template from a six-month period in 2012 that needs to be followed religiously.

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