On Smackdown’s move to the USA Network:
“Having both of our WWE programs Monday Night Raw, our flagship show, and SmackDown, which is the second longest running episodic show, only behind Raw, on the USA Network. That makes it easier for our WWE Universe to know where to go…We are very excited. We just have to keep doing what we are doing. We have some of the top talent in the world in WWE. There is the competitiveness of our roster where we go on each week and aim to put on the best show possible. When you have that kind of environment, it makes for great TV.”
“I have talked to people about making myself exclusive to SmackDown, which I have wanted to do,” Ryback said.
“…[And] any time you can make something like the Intercontinental championship more important than it is and have it exclusively on SmackDownwhere you have viewers tune in each week to see it defended only on that show. I think that is a great idea and proposal by Daniel Bryan. It’s doing things like that and stepping outside the box and giving the people something different. That works.”
On social media negativity:
“You open yourself up by having social media outlets to a world of negativity that you would not have to deal with had you not had them. To me, it’s necessary in this day and age, so it’s about learning how to deal with the negativity and eventually blocking it out…I love social media these days. The WWE social media guy talked me into Instagram last April overseas initially. That’s my favorite thing now on social media.”
On NXT and its future:
“As much as it is under the WWE brand, we have put a different flavor on it and spin on it. The WWE Universe has been very receptive to that. Those NXT specials have been a huge hit, and they continue to expand with travel and selling out everywhere. I think it’s only a matter of time before they decide to go somewhere like the USA Network or doing more television specials to get more eyes on the product. The kids down there can deliver and go. They now have eyes on them. They have stepped up to the plate and hit home runs.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
