It was almost like Joe was just waiting for Ryan to utter the name of some other famous politician so he could respond “Oh so now you think you’re blah blah...”
Certainly. Just like Lloyd Bentsen had preprepared his "You're no Jack Kennedy" retort to Dan Quayle for the 1988 vice presidential debates (Bentsen didn't actually know Kennedy and they certainly weren't friends, but they were in Congress at the same time; in any case, it's not factually accuracy that counts in such encounters, but drama and appearances).
Bentsen found an appropriate moment to deliver his zinger. Biden didn't but unleashed his anyway. Because the moment and circumstances weren't quite right, Biden's retort didn't have the same effect as Bentsen's. I'd be surprised if both Biden and Ryan weren't aware of that 1988 moment.