By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

"First We Feast" writer Reyan Ali published a series of fascinating food-based articles on WWE catering. Included were interviews with Ryback, whose catchphrase was fittingly "Feed Me More" at one time, and Jen Hagopian, the head of WWE catering.

- Ryback noted he used to travel with Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes, but he decided that he needs to travel on his own because of his quirky and particular schedule. He also made the decision because of a Panera Bread rib by Bryan and Rhodes.

"The Daniel Bryan one - that was when me, him, and Cody Rhodes rode together for maybe about a month. It was after that I made the decision to ride alone for the rest of my WWE career just to stay focused and do things my way, because when you ride with others, it’s very complicated. I’m a guy that has to have things my way," Ryback said.

"Dan is one of the guys I actually look up to at WWE, a guy that I’ve had many real conversations with outside of wrestling and have a lot of respect for. I was set in my ways and I had my road stops that I would go to, and they wanted to go to Panera Bread before a show. It rocked me because I’d go to Subway and get eight grilled chicken breasts on the side, so I can munch on grilled chicken breasts throughout the show. I’m like, ‘What am I going to get at Panera Bread? I’ve never eaten this crap.’ I’d get pissed, and Dan’s like, ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, we’ll help you with the menu,’ so I get in. I’m looking at the menu and I see all these weird items. I’m already pissed so I’m seeing red to begin with. I’m looking at the menu, but I’m not even looking at the menu. Then, [Daniel and Cody] just disappeared. Then, the lady’s like, ‘Would you like to order?’ and I just remember being so angry. I ordered 60 something dollars worth of food and it was barely anything. Dan and Cody thought it was the greatest thing in the world. It was one time where I’ll give Dan credit: he got me."

- Ryback talked about being punched in the face by WWE trainer Bill Demott for his eating habits.

"I remember Bill DeMott, who was my original trainer at Deep South Wrestling and is now the lead trainer down there at the Performance Center, would get hot at me over little things. He was like, ‘You’re eating again?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘If you eat that Rice Krispies Treat, I’m going to punch you in the face.’ I said, ‘Punch me in the face. I’m eating this Rice Krispies Treat,’ and he did. He punched me in the face - not as hard as he could but not as soft as he could either. He’s a very large man, if you’ve ever seen Bill DeMott. I got up and I was very angry with him. I got on a moving escalator and right in front of him, ate all the Rice Krispies Treats."

- Hagopian's interview is fascinating, including insight on how tight of a budget catering is on trying to feed hundreds of wrestlers, crew, and staff. Among the interesting stories that provide insight into WWE is how Vince McMahon is almost treated like a machine.

"I’ll be preparing beverages for all the dressing rooms where the talent are located, [plus] Vince McMahon’s room. He gets fed every two-and-a-half hours in his room with proteins and vegetables," Hagopian said.

"Then, for me, it’s putting out fires throughout the day, figuratively and literally, which has happened in some cases where our ovens have blown up. Then, the show starts and we break everything down. It all goes back into all the road cases, and they roll back into our 18-wheelers, and then we move on to the next city."

- Hagopian also provided insight on her catering team having to prepare extra meals or food items for TV stunts, such as food fights or Vickie Guerrero being dumped into "slop."

"I actually was just talking a couple of weeks ago about how it’s been a while since we’ve done a food fight," she said. "I’m knocking on wood right now because it’s always a mess and it’s not a fun thing for me to do to get them. Sometimes, they do slop. They just want leftover stuff in a bucket so they can throw it and they can mess up all my stuff in the dining room. Other times, they want something like a turkey dinner around Thanksgiving, so my chefs have to do a side project of cooking a specific turkey and making it look this pretty."

- Hagopian noted that The Undertaker, who was backstage during WWE's recent Texas tour, prefers Diet Dr. Pepper.

[ LINKS: Ryback Interview HERE , Hagopian Interview HERE, and Wrestler Preferences HERE with Reyan Ali at FirstWeFeast.com ]

[Torch art credit Joe Borzotta (c) PWTorch.com]

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