Publisher Description
Ryan Reeves[1] (born November 10, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Ryback.[3] After being one of the eight finalists on WWE Tough Enough 4, he later signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and wrestled in its developmental territories Deep South Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling,[5][6] and Florida Championship Wrestling.[7] He also participated in the first season of NXT in early 2010 under the ring name Skip Sheffield. World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE[edit]Florida Championship Wrestling (2008–2010)On December 16, 2008, Reeves, under his Ryback ring name and character, made his in-ring debut in Florida Championship Wrestling, losing a tag match with Jon Cutler against Kris Logan and Taylor Rotunda. Ryback soon formed a tag team with Sheamus O'Shaunessy and the duo unsuccessfully challenged for the Florida Tag Team Championship on a few occasions until O'Shaunessy was called up to the main roster.[17] After the Ryback character was scrapped, Reeves made his FCW redebut on October 25 under the ring name Skip Sheffield, a cowboy gimmick, where he defeated Jimmy Uso.[22][edit]NXT and the Nexus (2010)See also: The NexusReeves (far left) as Skip Sheffield at SummerSlam.On February 16, 2010 during the final episode of ECW, Sheffield was announced as one of eight FCW wrestlers, called "rookies", to take part in the first season of WWE's new NXT show.[23] Although Montel Vontavious Porter was originally to be his mentor, or "pro", he was later replaced by William Regal.[24] Sheffield made his NXT in-ring debut on the March 2 episode of NXT, where he teamed with Regal in a losing effort against Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel.[25] On the April 27 episode of NXT, Sheffield picked up his first victory with a win over Daniel Bryan. However, Sheffield was eliminated by the Pros on May 11, despite an earlier win over Darren Young, in the first NXT elimination poll. He was one of three eliminations that same night, behind Bryan and Michael Tarver, and commented that he will be back upon being eliminated.[26]On the June 7 episode of Raw, Sheffield along with the other NXT season one rookies, interfered in the main event match between John Cena and CM Punk, attacking both competitors as well as the announcing team before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment.[27] On the June 14 edition of Raw the rookies attacked General Manager Bret Hart, when he refused to give them contracts.