10 WWE Stars Whose Stock Has Fallen The Most Since SummerSlam 2016
7. Rusev
The curious case of Rusev continues to baffle on SmackDown. WWE's 'Bulgarian Brute' has so much to offer the promotion; only 32 years old, he also has a thick, muscled look, can wrestle against opponents of all sizes (check that SmackDown match against Chad Gable for proof) and isn't too shabby on the mic when handed decent material.
Somehow though, Rusev has fallen by the wayside. Who could have imagined this time last year that Jinder Mahal would be WWE Champion and Rusev would be struggling to even make the main card at SummerSlam? His match against Randy Orton is complete throwaway and harks back to a time when WWE were content to put on random pay-per-view battles.
This isn't the late-80s anymore. Fans demand some sort of issue to make a pay-per-view clash sing. Orton vs. Rusev doesn't have that, and it's hardly a surprise considering how badly the latter's aura has been bashed. By comparison to SummerSlam 2017, Rusev's angle with Roman Reigns last year seems huge.