Rusev made an impressive debut to mainstream WWE programming with his performance in the Royal Rumble, and interrupted a match on NXT ArRIVAL with a dominant display of power. Other than that, however, his appearances on the main roster have been limited to vignettes and promos, and with currently no place on the Wrestlemania card, audience patience is beginning to wear a little thin. The man needs a feud, and he needs one soon. Enter Mr Monday Night. Rob Van Dam returns to Raw the night after Wrestlemania, and out comes Lana with Rusev, criticising the lazy American for his absence and lacklustre matches, all the while bragging about the Bulgarian Super Athlete. Rob says "put up or shut up", physicality ensues, and the match is set up for Extreme Rules. As for the match itself, I can only predict good things. Rusev reminds me of Tazz in lots of ways, and Van Dam had some great matches with him in ECW. As well as this, the pair both have a background in martial arts, so it wouldn't be difficult to choreograph this into something unique that will stand out. Rusev could do a lot worse for his first major opponent.
Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.
