Ryback told skysports.com why he will defeat CM Punk at Hell in a Cell and become the new WWE Champion.
Ryback talks WWE Title, Goldberg and battling back from injury
Big Hungry has been granted a very big opportunity.
Ryback will walk into the Hell in a Cell enclosure on Sunday night for a one-one-one WWE Title match with CM Punk, hell-bent on ending the current champion's over 300-day reign with the iconic strap.
The 290-pound, Las-Vegas born grappler has not been defeated since he made his WWE debut in April and
skysports.com caught up with him to discuss his chances of keeping that record intact in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend.
Ryback also spoke about his dramatic ascent to the top of the WWE food chain, the booming cheers he is receiving from the crowds, and whether he minds being compared to former WWE star Goldberg...
skysports.com: How are you feeling ahead of Sunday's huge WWE Championship match?
RYBACK: This is the biggest opportunity of my career thus far and everything that I have prepared for. I give it my all every single night and Sunday will be no different. I expected to face CM Punk at the event and I am ready to go.
skysports.com: What does fighting for the WWE Championship mean to you?
RYBACK: Being WWE Champion is one of my goals and when I set a goal I meet it. I do like beating people up and causing destruction but I am built to win. It is time for a new guy to step forward and create some exciting new match-ups for the WWE Universe. I believe it is time for a change in the WWE and I am the guy that is going to be on the frontline leading it.
Click here to find out more about WWE Hell in a Cell
skysports.com: Are you daunted by the fact the match will take place inside Hell in a Cell?
RYBACK: I'm not worried. I competed inside cage matches before I made it to the WWE so I am familiar with the environment. I like that my opponent cannot escape and that he is there to be manhandled and thrown around, and CM Punk is going to find out that there is nowhere to run. Punk truly is one of the best in the world - but Ryback is better.
skysports.com: You only debuted in April, are you surprised how quickly you have made it to the top?
RYBACK: It was always my intention to make it to the top of the WWE so quickly; other people might try to bide their time and wait for an opportunity but not me - I seized it. I wish I could have got to this point even sooner. I am a very competitive person in wrestling and life and I always want more, and that is what I will keep on aiming for. I am striving to be the best that I can be and I firmly believe that my best is THE best.
skysports.com: What does it feel like when the WWE Universe is cheering for you?
RYBACK: I feed off adrenaline and the energy from the WWE Universe and it is a rush that you cannot explain. I can get a buzz at the gym and in other situations but nothing equals what I get when I am out in that ring. The audience are always chanting "Feed Me More" which I first shouted one week after beating a local wrestler. It wasn't planned, it was off the cuff, but it caught on and has taken on a life of its own.
skysports.com: You are very intense on screen, but how would you describe your persona away from the ring?
RYBACK: I am very extreme in a lot of different aspects of my life, but once I am in the ring and in the midst of battle it cranks up another level and is real life to me. I go out there to be victorious and consider myself a modern-day gladiator; I know I am putting on a show for the entire world and so the switch just flips inside of me. I am extremely focussed outside the ring, too, but just not as intense as you see on TV.
skysports.com: You had a serious ankle injury a few years ago, did you doubt that you would make it back into wrestling?
RYBACK: A lot of people might have doubted that I would get back to wrestling but I didn't. I know what I was put on this world for and never once gave up on myself. If I had have done I wouldn't be main-eventing a pay-per-view as I am on Sunday. My rehab may have taken a little longer than I expected but I only know one mode and that is go. That will be the case on Sunday and on the upcoming tour of the UK where, as always, I will be ready to fight.
skysports.com: What do you make of the comparisons between you and former World Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg
RYBACK: Bill Goldberg was his own man but so is Ryback. There might be a few similarities between us but as time goes on you will see that I have my own personality. It is great to be compared to somebody that was at the top at one point in his career, I take no offence from it, but I am going to be me every single night.
skysports.com: Which wrestlers inspired you to get into the industry?
RYBACK: When I was about 12-13, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were the two guys that I really looked up to and inspired me to wrestle. They, along with Razor Ramon, were extremely influential.
skysports.com: And finally, will you defeat CM Punk and become the next WWE Champion?
RYBACK: I am yet to be defeated and as a firm believer in positive thinking I'm focussed on nothing but winning. Up to now, no-one has proved me wrong and CM Punk is going to be no different. He is going to learn respect and he is going to fall to Ryback.
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