The Undertaker didn't like Ryback's character, so it seems.
During the former WWE star's fifth episode of his podcast, Conversation with the Big Guy, Ryback talked about how The Undertaker came to development and criticized his character. He allegedly stopped using the Ryback character in FCW after 'Taker complained that the gimmick was "too 80s".
"I remember Undertaker came down to FCW and [Pat Buck was] here for this at this point. And CM Punk, actually, was there, with Taker. And I spent a bunch of money on, a got a new Ryback outfit made and I was all geeked up and jazzed up to, I had a promo cut on The Undertaker for Ryback and it was a weird thing having him just sitting there staring at you as you're in the ring cutting a promo on him. And you're like, 'who's this guy?' Do you know what I mean? But I just thought it was, I put my heart and soul into it. And I remember afterwards, I think Taker didn't approve of it or something," Ryback said.
After the feedback from The Undertaker, then NXT creative official Dusty Rhodes told Ryback that he should stop using that character and go a different route..
"When you get a guy like The Undertaker saying something like that, changes have to be made ... So I get called into the office with Dusty Rhodes and he just tells me, he goes, 'I want you to do, you're a funny guy, we need to get away from this Ryback character.' And I'm [defeated]. Everything on my mind with the positivity and I created this, and we have something with this and 'you just love this - what are you talking about?', 'now you're being told you can't like this, but you told me you love this.'
Ryback will return to indy wrestling next weekend, Oct. 14 and 15, at a WrestlePro event in Creskill, New Jersey.