Ryback on AEW Going For the Long Game, Being Able to Bring Element of Surprise Back

– On the latest Conversations with the Big Guy, Ryback weighed in on what he sees as AEW’s current strategy and how they can bring an element of “anything can happen” back to wrestling. You can see highlights of his discussion below, along with the video clip:

On what AEW’s goal likely is: “As I’m watching this unfold — and this is my opinion — AEW is doing what they need to do right now with the roster that they have, in trying to get that talent exposure and get them over to a certain degree. And when I talked with you before about weathering that initial storm, what will happen is that contracts are gonna come up. Cody and [AEW], they’re very open and smart. They’re gonna have an opportunity, they’re gonna get these guys to a certain level, and they’re gonna get maxed out. They just have to get them some notoriety, face time, some TV time. When people start popping up on that show, the right people, and plugging them into the equation? It’s going to start boosting things.”

On AEW’s ability to bring back the element of surprise: “But the one thing that they have the ability to do, that no other promotion — WWE even, it’s really difficult with how much talent they have locked down. AEW will be able to bring back the element of surprise that made wrestling cool again, that made WCW really cool. That forced WWE to start doing it and bringing [in surprises]. I think they’re gonna have that opportunity in the next year. This is a long-term stock that you are investing in, and we have to just be patient with it.”

On how he sees AEW’s strategy: “They got the guys that they wanted to get the ball rolling with. They have to get the guys over to some degree. We can’t just — I see what they are doing with their business model, and you didn’t want to bring in a bunch of big names right away and then job out your new guys that are trying to get over, that haven’t been established. Instead, ‘We got enough pieces to start. Let’s get these guys TV time and face value, get them some exposure. And then start peppering in things when they start becoming available.”

On AEW being the long-term bet: “I think man, long term stock is AEW. If I am investing in WWE or AEW long term it’s AEW with the opportunities that they are going to have. Now, again, if you are a day trader or a swing trader, WWE is the way to go on the short term, but yeah. My opinion.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Conversations With the Big Guy with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.