Ryback

 ( Official Website ) 

After training in Deep South Wrestling (DSW) for most of 2005 and early 2006, Reeves was transferred over to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in early March. In July 2006, Reeves was suspended for 30 days due to failing a drug test as part of WWE's Wellness Program. According to Reeves, he had been taking several over the counter bodybuilding supplements, one of which caused a positive reading. The supplements he was using were later taken off the market due to this effect and, although his suspension remained in place, Reeves eventually returned to the roster after passing a second test. His case was later placed on the CNN documentary Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling.

After over a year's absence, Reeves returned to OVW under the ring name Ryback and won the OVW Heavyweight Championship on October 15, 2008, before losing it in the same month. Soon after the title loss, Reeves was then re-signed to a developmental contract with WWE. From late 2008 to early 2010, Reeves wrestled in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the ring name Ryback and later Skip Sheffield.

On February 16, 2010, Sheffield was announced as one of eight FCW contestants to take part in the first season of WWE's new NXT show, where he finished sixth. On the June 7 episode of WWE Raw, Sheffield and the seven other NXT participants 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. The group, named The Nexus, would continue feuding with Cena over the following weeks. This resulted in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at the 2010 SummerSlam, where The Nexus lost to Team WWE led by Cena. In August, Reeves broke his ankle in three places during a match, which made him undergo three surgeries and kept him away from wrestling for over a year until December 2011.

On January 27 at the Royal Rumble, Ryback entered the Royal Rumble match as the thirtieth and final entrant and eliminated five superstars before being the last man eliminated by John Cena. Ryback would then resume his rivalry with The Shield on the February 4 Raw, when he teamed up with John Cena and Sheamus to attack the stable. This culminated in a six-man tag team match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where The Shield emerged victorious when Seth Rollins pinned Ryback for the win following a Spear from Roman Reigns. The following night on Raw, Ryback and Sheamus teamed up with Chris Jericho to face The Shield in a rematch, but were again defeated. Ryback then began a feud with Mark Henry after several non-verbal confrontations led to them attacking Drew McIntyre with their finishing moves in an attempt to one-up each other. On the March 15 episode of SmackDown, Ryback defeated Henry by disqualification following interference from The Shield. Afterwards, Henry delivered the World's Strongest Slam to Ryback three times in a row. Ryback and Henry competed in a Bench press on the March 29 SmackDown, where Ryback tied Henry at 53 reps after Henry choked him with the weight. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Ryback was defeated by Henry in a singles match.

The following night on Raw, Ryback saved WWE Champion John Cena from assault by Mark Henry before attacking Cena as well, turning heel in the process. The following week on Raw, Ryback explained his attack on Cena as stepping out from his shadow and getting revenge for Cena not having his back against The Shield; before Ryback got a measure of revenge later that night, by allowing the Shield to attack Cena. After becoming the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Ryback continued his feud with Cena by attacking him on several occasions while also having confrontations with The Shield. Ryback received his title opportunity in a Last Man Standing match on May 19 at Extreme Rules. The match ended in a no contest after Ryback rammed Cena and himself into the electric backdrop at the top of the ramp. The following night on Raw, Ryback entered the arena in an ambulance and challenged Cena to an ambulance match for the WWE Championship at the first-ever Payback pay-per-view. The following week on the May 27 episode of Raw, Cena accepted Ryback's challenge, but announced their match would instead be a 3 Stages of Hell match; the first fall a lumberjack match, the second a tables match, and the third an ambulance match. On June 16 at Payback, Ryback won the lumberjack match, but went on to lose both the tables and ambulance matches and his shot at the WWE Championship, to end the feud.

On September 15 at Night of Champions, Ryback aligned himself with Paul Heyman after helping him defeat CM Punk. Despite being a bully himself, Ryback claimed he hated bullies and vowed to stop CM Punk and anyone else who acted as such. On October 6 at Battleground, Ryback was defeated by Punk in a singles match following a low blow from Punk. On October 27 at Hell in a Cell, Ryback and Heyman were defeated by Punk in a 2-on-1 handicap Hell in a Cell match. The feud ended the following night on Raw, when Punk defeated Ryback in a Street Fight match after forcing him to submit to the Anaconda Vise, marking Ryback's first ever submission loss. On the November 11 episode of Raw, the alliance between Ryback and Heyman came to an end when Heyman verbally berated him. On November 24 at Survivor Series, Ryback was defeated by the returning Mark Henry after he answered Ryback's open challenge.

Ryback then began a tag team with fellow former Paul Heyman Guy Curtis Axel collectively labelled as "RybAxel", and on the December 6 episode of SmackDown, they defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non-title match to earn a shot at the titles. RybAxel received their title shot on December 15 at , but were defeated by Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a four-way elimination match, also involving Big Show and Rey Mysterio and The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger). RybAxel received another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 6, 2014, on the WrestleMania XXX pre-show, but were defeated by defending champions The Usos in a fatal four-way elimination match, which also included Los Matadores and The Real Americans. At Payback, RybAxel defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a tag team match. At Money in the Bank, RybAxel lost to Gold and Stardust. On July 2, it was announced that Ryback and Axel would be competing for the vacant Intercontinental Championship in a 19-man battle royal at Battleground, but neither Ryback or Axel managed to win. On August 26, 2014, Ryback underwent hernia surgery.

At Elimination Chamber, Ryback won the vacant Intercontinental Championship, his first professional wrestling championship in WWE, by defeating Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Ron Killings, Wade Barrett and Mark Henry in an Elimination Chamber match. The following night, before Ryback was scheduled to make his first title defense against The Miz; Big Show attacked Miz and confronted Ryback, starting a feud between the two. At Money in the Bank, Big Show defeated Ryback by disqualification after Miz attacked him; Ryback retained the title as a result. Ryback was scheduled to defend the title against Big Show and Miz in a triple threat match at Battleground, but the match was postponed after Ryback developed a staph infection in his knee; the match was rescheduled for SummerSlam, where Ryback pinned The Miz to retain the title. Ryback once again defended his championship against Big Show on the August 31 episode of Raw, where he pinned Show after a distraction from The Miz, ending the feud. On the September 11 episode of SmackDown, Kevin Owens, who was one of the lumberjacks, cost him a win against Seth Rollins. Three days later on the September 14 episode of Raw, it was announced that he would face Owens at Night of Champions for his Intercontinental Championship. Owens won the match by pinfall after he raked Ryback's eyes, ending his reign at 112 days. After initially failing to regain the title using his rematch clause after Owens proceeded to get himself counted out, Ryback defeated Rusev to earn another opportunity at Hell in a Cell, where Ryback failed to regain the championship from Owens, ending the feud.

On the February 4 episode of SmackDown, Ryback debuted a new look, abandoning his singlet and now sporting black trunks, where he defeated Erick Rowan, but was attacked by The Wyatt Family. Ryback teamed up with Big Show and Kane, being billed as "the titans" of WWE, to defeat Wyatt Family members Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman in a six-man tag team match at Fastlane, with Ryback pinning Harper for the victory. The next night on Raw, during a rematch between the two teams, Ryback walked out on Big Show and Kane, and later proclaimed that he was tired of being in tag team matches, turning heel for the first time since 2014.

On the March 7 episode of Raw, Ryback confronted United States Champion Kalisto backstage, leading to a title match between the two on the WrestleMania 32 pre-show, which Ryback lost. In a non-title rematch between the two on the April 21 episode of SmackDown, Ryback defeated Kalisto to reignite their feud. With the win, he earned another shot at Kalisto's United States Championship at the Payback pre-show, but was again defeated; this marked his final appearance in WWE.

On May 2, it was reported that WWE had sent Ryback home from television due to a contract dispute, and he did not participate in the battle royal match for which he was scheduled. The following day, he explained on his Tumblr page that he had made the decision to go home, citing a lack of equal pay for talent and creative frustration as primary reasons for his departure.

On August 5, Reeves announced via Instagram that he and WWE had parted ways, though he was not officially released until August 8.