Ryback vs. Kalisto (c)
United States Championship match
Above all else, including championships or personal vendetta, this match is all about one thing: Size. The story of a smaller man trying to overcome a larger threat is not a new one. It's been around thousands of years. However, it never fails to capture the imagination because of our desire to see someone overcome a challenge that seems too daunting. And the United States Champion Kalisto has a very daunting WrestleMania challenge.
Playing the role of Goliath in this is Ryback, a man so enamored with how big he is he nicked named himself the Big Guy. That leaves Kalisto hoping he can act as David and over come this significant difference in stature to win the match. To get an idea the of the size discrepancy, let's look at the tale of the tape.
Ryback
Hails from: Las Vegas, Nevada
Age: 34
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 293 lb
Noted accomplishments: Former Intercontinental Champion, Tough Enough Runner Up, may or may not be dumb as f@$#
Kalisto
Hails from: Mexico City, Mexico
Age: 29
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 170 lb
Noted accomplishments: Current two time United States Champion, former NXT Tag Team Champion, Slammy Award Winner (for OMG moment of the year)
Clearly, Kalisto gives up a great deal of size to Ryback. He gives up 8 inches in height and over 120 pounds in weight. That's likely why Ryback decided to target Kalisto in his crusade to prove the superiority of larger athletes. It started when he approached Kalisto during a backstage interview. Kalisto was talking about how excited he was to be part of WrestleMania, which lead Ryback to wonder why he wasn't part of WrestleMania. This quickly turned into Ryback questioning why people cheer for little guys at all.
Next week, an aggressive Ryback made short work out of Kalisto's tag partner Sin Cara in a singles match. After the match, he immediately challenged Kalisto for the title.
Not one to back down from a fight regardless the size of his opponent, the champ accepted during a sit down interview with Michael Cole.
It could easily seem like things are bleak for the luchador's title reign. He's giving up a ton of size to an extremely aggressive Ryback. However, there's one statistic on his side that was not mentioned in the tale of tape above:
Ryback's record against Kalisto: 0-1
These men matched up last fall in the tournament for the vacated WWE title, and Kalisto upset the Big Guy. While unhappy with the outcome, Ryback gave Kalisto his due respect after the match. However that was a different Ryback. That Ryback was less aggressive than this current Big Guy. So while Kalisto has a win in his pocket against Ryback, it doesn't mean it's going to go that way again.
The thing that makes a David and Goliath story so alluring is the fact that a David victory is rare. More often than not, the larger monster will prevail given their natural advantages. If the smaller man always won, the story would no longer be exciting. This Sunday, at WrestleMania 32, we'll find out if the Salida Del Sol is the slingshot Kalisto needs to slay the monster. Or will size really prevail overall?