10 Gimmicks That WWE Dropped Without Explanation

5. 'Russian' Lana

Lana Rusev
WWE.com

Remember when Lana was a Ludmilla Drago lift off who praised Vladimir Putin and put her 'Bulgarian Brute' Rusev to work as a tool of Russian hatred towards the United States? Also, remember when she'd speak in a thick accent that earned her rave reviews as the 'Ravishing Russian'?

WWE don't, and neither (sometimes) does she.

These days, Lana is an Americanised sex symbol who's teaming with Natalya for... reasons. She does still have a slight Russian twang during promos, but that's something the manager-come-wrestler drops in and out of now when it's convenient. She's definitely not the prim and proper anti-USA spokeswoman she used to be.

WWE changed that in 2015 when Lana started flirting with Dolph Ziggler and expressed a desire to live free of Rusev. Shortly thereafter, the strict Russian pronunciation was gone, only to be replaced with a mixed accent. It didn't come back when she returned to Rusev's side, and it was never made clear why.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.