10 Live Observations From WWE Extreme Rules 2016
7. Rusev Is Back, At Least Until Next Week
The League of Nations did nobody any favors, but in the wake of the stable's breakup, Rusev has been given a renewed push. He won a battle royal to earn a shot at Kalisto's U.S. Championship, then was paired up again with erstwhile manager (and real-life fianceé) Lana.
His shot came at Extreme Rules, and Rusev looked like "The Bulgarian Brute" of old. He was angry and vicious, yet athletic and graceful, and even though Kalisto hit a few of his high-risk maneuvers and managed to take the challenger down a few times, the outcome of the match never really felt like it was in question. Rusev ended up throwing Kalisto from the top rope to the apron, hurting his back, then locking in a particularly gruesome Accolade to draw the submission.
Rusev is the U.S. Champion, but many people are already putting a time limit on his reign - John Cena makes his return to the company next Monday (Memorial Day), and it would come as little surprise to many if the company had him immediately capture the belt from Rusev - after all, he was riding high as U.S. Champ before leaving in October, and there was still mileage in his open challenge gimmick.
It would be unfortunate if Rusev really does lose the belt so soon. If Cena is the next champion, hopefully the feud is at least drawn out a bit.