Ryback has had a hell of a 2012. The old Nexus man struggled with injuries in the past, but over the last 12 months has stormed his way back into contention.

His year was set to end with a WWE Title match against CM Punk, but a bad case of knee-knack sadly meant that was not to be. Ryback's response? FEED. ME. MORE.

So, Ryan Reeves has joined Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) for a TLC [Tables, Ladders and Chairs] matchup against The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns). Digital Spy asked him all about it.

From the outside, 2012 has been massive for Ryback - how has it been for you?

"It's been an unbelievable ride thus far. It's nothing that I did not expect. I knew I would be here at one point. I wake up every day excited, looking forward to what's coming to me. It's great. I wouldn't trade it in for anything. The things I've gone through in the past and have had happen to me, this has all made it worth it."



What went through your mind when your WWE Title match against CM Punk was cancelled?

"It's unfortunate. I believe I'm going to be the WWE champion for many years to come - a staple of the WWE. It's just delaying the inevitable. I tend to focus on the positives. When I destroy CM Punk I want him healthy. I know that time will come, but right now I get the next best thing and that's feeding on The Shield and handing their guys their first loss in their first pay-per-view match, so I'm very excited about that."



How soon will it be till you get another title chance?

"I can't answer that - I don't pull the strings, I just take what's given to me. Sometimes I take it anyways! I've got to focus on The Shield. These guys are definitely a threat. They're three very talented, well-rounded performers and they've done what they needed to get noticed, they just chose the wrong guy. And December 16, I've got Kane and Daniel Bryan and those are two great guys to have in your quarter, and there's going to be a lot of chaos at the TLC, I can tell you that."



What's it like to be with your old Nexus colleague Daniel Bryan?

"I just had a match with him at one of our WWE live events and it was a lot of fun. We're all different styles, essentially, me, Kane and Daniel Bryan - especially Dan. It's great tagging with him and we have our history in the past, and he's one of the few guys I get along with outside of being in the ring. It's gonna be a lot of fun."



What's your favourite type of bout and why?

"I love destruction. Hell in a Cell was pretty cool, personally. Until I have more matchups that I have the experiences I can talk about, I'm looking forward to TLC more than anything right now. We're going to be able to do pretty cool things, some pretty shocking things and throw people to the tables and get some ladders and chairs around. I think that's definitely going to be one of my favourites after that comes. Anything outside the box to give the WWE and the fans a little different."



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If you could have a bout with anyone in history, who would it be?

"It would be great to be able to step into the ring with past guys like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior. Guys that were at the top of their game at their time and in more recent history, guys like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Brock Lesnar - guys like that.



"Undertaker - that's another one I'd absolutely love to be in the ring with. Hopefully I'll have that opportunity with that when the time comes. I have a great respect for the people who have come before me in this and it would be an honour to be able to go in there and say 'Feed Me More'."

Have your past problems with injuries made you hold back at all?

"It's impossible with what we do. If anything it's done nothing but help me. I always worked extremely hard but the injury - the last one - put an anger inside of me that I didn't have before. It put a chip on my shoulder. That's what you see.



"There's a whole new level of intensity with Ryback because no-one's going to tell me what I'm going to do with my life. I was born to do this and be the best at this and that's what I'm going to do. That's why you see this level of intensity and aggression - it's from those injuries so I regret none of them."

Wrestlemania XXX is only a year and a half away - what do you want to have achieved by then?

"It's great to talk ahead. I focus on one day at a time, but my goal is to be WWE champion, World Heavyweight Champion. My goal is to not just replace John Cena but blow John Cena out of the water. I'm very vocal about that. I want to beat John in all aspects of this thing - merchandise, fan base - because I believe I can.



"That's what our company - the WWE needs somebody who's not going to be intimidated, who's not going to be afraid. I'm that guy. We haven't had that. We need somebody. John's not going to be around forever.

"I have nothing but respect - I think he's one of the hardest-working guys in the history of this company but my goal is to be my best. And I believe my best is better than him. And he knows that too, and there's a friendly rivalry there and I look forward to seeing how I do against him in the coming year."

Do you have any regrets about not taking college sports further?

"No, when I was 12, 13 I was guest bell ringer for a WWE show here in Las Vegas and that's when I absolutely fell in love with this. I grew up playing baseball and football, I was very successful. My uncle is the pitching coach for the Florida Marlins - baseball is in my blood. But my heart wasn't in it as I got older. I just wanted to be a professional wrestler, and with WWE and things lined up for me eventually."



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What is it about WWE that people have loved so much for so long?

"It's addicting. It's something that you can tune into no matter what you've got going on in your life and you can just let go and live through other people. Living, breathing cartoon characters - either at home, or you can go to the live shows. There's nothing like a WWE live experience.



"You get to live through these guys and through us. It's something you can't explain - you either get it you don't. To me it's the greatest job in the entire world and it gives me great pleasure to provide entertainment for our fans."

Professional wrestling has changed a lot since it started - can you predict where it's going in the future?

"Wrestling changes with the times and everything evolves. I firmly believe that you're going to see another boom period with the WWE. The crop of talent that we have right now is unbelievable. We have those guys chomping at the bit in development and it is more competitive than it's ever been.



"You're going to see guys like Antonio Cesaro, Damian Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler. The guys that we have right now with the top WWE Superstars are going to be the ones carrying this company in the future - along with myself.

"I firmly believe I'm going to be at the forefront of that. You're going to see some really cool things, right now we're creating new stars and developing talent and it's a very exciting time to be a wrestling fan. Great things are coming. I have no doubt about that."

Watch WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs live and exclusive on Sky Box Office and Sky Box Office HD at 12pm, Sunday evening, December 16 in the UK and on Pay Per View in the US at 8pm ET and 5pm PT in the US.

The WWE RAW and SmackDown WrestleMania Revenge Tours return to the UK with ten live events, from April 18 to April 23, 2013.

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