10 Impulse Reactions Following WWE Fastlane 2017

8. Jinder And Rusev

Chris Jericho
WWE.com

Trotting out unannounced filler on pay-per-view for the first time since last summer's brand extension, WWE harked back to the darkest days of the original split as Rusev and Jinder Mahal assumed jobbing duties in a useless portion of the broadcast.

The dreaded 'bonus match' term was even thrown around, and not since the New Midnight Express were given pay days in 1998 did that feel such a misnomer.

Mahal's snoozer with Cesaro was useless enough, but the sound of an entire fanbase sighing for poor Rusev's plight is becoming almost as loud as the disdain for Roman Reigns.

Hilarious as usual in the build-up to the tacked-on nonsense in the pre-show, 'The Bulgarian Brute' had taken a demeaning beating from his former partner before Mahal's defeat, and was barely allowed to get his heat back before The Big Show's music hit and the next squash commenced.

Show was admittedly over with the enthusiastic Milwaukee crowd, but even though it took three chokeslams and a knockout punch to finish his opponent, the sequence just made 'The World's Largest Athlete' look more dominant, rather than Rusev particularly gutsy.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett