WWE News: Ryback discusses comparisons to Goldberg and his TLC match with The Shield

WWE star Ryback gave an interview to the Phoenix New Times as hype for Royal Rumble. You can read the full interview at http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2013/01/wwe_ryback_goldberg_phoenix_royal_rumble_us_airways.php?page=3. Among the highlights:

Ryback on the Goldberg comparisons: "I've explained this to people before, it's never offended me. It's always great to get a reaction from the people one way or another. And I'm sure there's some fans that do it in a negative way. A lot of 'em, I feel, just do it because there are things about me that remind 'em of him [Goldberg].

"Me being a fan growing up, I understand that we become very loyal to those who were before us and Goldberg had a tremendous following and he was 'The Man' back in WCW. And he was very exciting and fun to watch and brought a new intensity that we hadn't seen in years. And that wasn't the first time that someone was like that, but it had been a while.

"But he has his loyal followers, so when somebody sees somebody that, 'Oh, this guy kinda reminds me of him,' there first initial response is, 'Oh, this guy's a rip-off,' whether he is or he isn't. So I understood that part of it going in that I might get some comparisons, but I knew over time that I just gotta keep being me and that people will eventually, hopefully become loyal to me and followers of Ryback. And I will set myself apart from Bill Goldberg."

Ryback on his TLC match with The Shield stealing the show: "I'm very proud of that. Daniel Bryan is one guy that I'm pretty close with in the WWE, him and Wade Barrett. But to be a part of that match with Kane and The Shield...I firmly believe that those three men [are] extremely talented and when they eventually go on their own, all of them are going to be a big part of the WWE for many years to come. So to go out there and have that kind of match with everyone, it's a tremendous honor. And it was a very physical hard-hitting match. And that crowd in Brooklyn was hot. It felt good to be a part of that."

Shore's Slant: Good interview with Ryback who continues to take the Goldberg questions in stride. I know he's been asked the question before, but that's the point. I know I would get agitated with answering the same question over and over, so it's always interesting to see if you can see some cracks in his responses. So far, so good.