WWE star Ryback gave his response to allegations made by CM Punk last week. During an interview, Punk referred to Ryback as a “steroid guy” and claimed he injured him several times.
In an interview with a radio station in Oklahoma, Ryback said that “a little harmless fire back never hurts. ... I don’t want to harp on this but I will say the comments he made were not accurate about me, definitely.”
“It’s a little disappointing to hear that. He was never like that to my face. To hear the things that he said, especially behind my back to Vince (McMahon), it’s very disturbing to me. Things did not go ideal for me after that time period that we had wrestled and I stuck around, I hung out, I showed up day in and day out, I did my job, and turned things around,” he said, via CagesideSeats.com.
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He categorically denied Punk’s claims that he broke bones in his body on purpose.
“You’ve got a roster full of WWE talent that knows the real Ryback. Everyone knows the truth and what he said is not the truth,” he said.
Ryback then said he wishes Punk “the best” in his future endeavors.
“He was beaten up, he had his issues. I don’t think anyone is going to question walking away beaten up. But I think people say ‘what does he have to lose by saying what he does?’ I think he’s making excuses and trying to... he wants people to feel sorry for him for leaving. He walked away and left and just man up, he needed time off,” he said.
In an interview with Colt Cabana last week, Punk said he basically left the WWE earlier this year due to health concerns, saying the company’s health and wellness policy is flawed. Punk also claimed the WWE fired him on his wedding day with fellow wrestler AJ Lee.
Later, WWE CEO Vince McMahon issued an apology for the how the firing was handled, adding he'd work with Punk again.
“I would like to apologize. Sometimes in a big corporation, the legal people don’t know what talent relations are doing, and conversely. Punk got his severance papers on the day he got married and that was coincidence, so I want to personally apologize for that,” he told Steve Austin on his show Monday.
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Here’s the whole Ryback interview:
“A little harmless fire back never hurts. ... I don’t want to harp on this but I will say the comments he made were not accurate about me, definitely. It’s a little disappointing to hear that. He was never like that to my face. To hear the things that he said, especially behind my back to Vince (McMahon), it’s very disturbing to me. Things did not go ideal for me after that time period that we had wrestled and I stuck around, I hung out, I showed up day in and day out, I did my job, and turned things around.
“He goes on record saying I broke his ribs on purpose and this and that. That’s not true. And if it was, if he says that that happened, he never did anything about it, if he’s this big bad tough guy. But it never happened. You’ve got a roster full of WWE talent that knows the real Ryback. Everyone knows the truth and what he said is not the truth.
“I wish him the best and I‘d like to think he would be thankful for everything that he has in WWE. I was the one that, for lack of a better word, put him over time and time again. And then he walked out and left. He was beaten up, he had his issues. I don’t think anyone is going to question walking away beaten up. But I think people say ’what does he have to lose by saying what he does?' I think he’s making excuses and trying to... he wants people to feel sorry for him for leaving. He walked away and left and just man up, he needed time off. We all get beat up, we all work hurt. I was hurt for seven months before I needed to get surgery. And I say at the end of the day, be thankful for everything that you have from WWE. With any job there’s good and bad. Focus on the good. Don’t be bitter because who knows what’s going to happen down the line.
“But I wish him the best. I don’t want to sit there and get into a war of words, it’s not going to do good for anybody. Hopefully we'll see him down the line.
“If I was as big, bad, and rough for what he’s saying in the ring and I beat him up so badly that it took 20 years off his career do you think that WWE would have me in the ring with guys like John Cena and Dolph Ziggler and other top WWE talents? No. I wouldn’t be here. I would be gone. We have a roster full of guys that know the truth. He said what he said. I respect his opinion to say what he wants to say, but it’s not true. I know some people are going to believe him, some people aren’t. In a few weeks it’s going to be irrelevant and I’m going to be with the WWE moving forward.”
