Ryback tells a great story on the time he botched a Shell Shock on Paul Heyman

Remember back in 2012 when Ryback botched the Shell Shock on Paul Heyman in the lead up to his headlining match with CM Punk at Hell in a Cell? There’s a great story behind that, as told by THE BIG GUY himself on his podcast, Conversation with The Big Guy (transcription via Wrestling Inc):

"It was a live event in Connecticut. Paul Heyman, I was supposed to, after a [CM] Punk match with a DQ, Paul, I was supposed to pick him up for Shell Shocked. At that time, I started tucking my head in because of this, actually. Paul goes, 'oh, just pick me up out there'. I go, 'Paul, you are not built like a normal human being. By that, I mean you have an enormous f--king stomach.' I was very nice about the situation and he said, 'oh, you can just pick me up out there,' so I knew better. I should've tucked my head under him when I went to pick him up. And I get out there to pick him up and he's pitter-pattering his feet. He's f--king all over the place. He'll admit he's the most unathletic human being in the history of the world. And I actually respected Paul a lot more now that we've cleared the air years ago over different bulls--t issues, but he… I go to pick him up and his fat f--king stomach hits me in the forehead. I couldn't clear the f--king two feet of stomach over my head because at that time I was picking guys up and then ducking my head under, which was actually hurting my spine and my neck, which is a whole other f--king conversation. But, so that happens. He goes, 'oh God!' and I had to say, literally, go, 'God damn it, Paul. Just sit f--king still,' which the crowd heard me, just… And then, I f--king boom, pick him up, hit him with the deal, everybody goes home happy."

Pro wrestling is great not just for what goes on in the ring but what the behind-the-scenes story is of said goings on in the ring. There are too many podcasts on the genre, sure, but as long as we get stories like this, they’ll be worth listening to.

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