Scott,
What did you think of Ryback's run in 2012 where he got over huge? I don't think he was ready to win the belt when they put him into that title match vs. CM Punk, but he was consistently getting huge reactions and looked like a star in the making. What could they have done differently with him during that time? Keep him away from the title picture, keep having him squash guys, and then win the belt off of Cena after WrestleMania?
That was a really weird situation for everyone. They were really backed into a corner by booking Ryback into that match, even though it did business. It really, REALLY should have been some sort of screwjob DQ, however. It's not like Hell in a Cell isn't compromised enough as it is that you couldn't make an exception and just have both guys fight out of the cage and call it a no-contest or something like that.
That being said, I don't think I ever would have put him over Cena, but you certainly could have done pretty well by keeping him unbeaten until after WM and then doing the Cena program. What was REALLY baffling, though, was getting out of the match with the cheap finish and then beating Ryback four more straight PPVs afterwards. If they were just going to destroy him anyway, why bother with the banana peel win for Punk?