10 Quick WWE Fixes To Save Rusev

5. Rusev Crush

Rusev WWE Champion
WWE.com

AJ Styles and Kevin Owens have traded the United States Championship so frequently in the past few months that the title has started to reach the basement level it flirted with at the tail end of the botched WCW/ECW Invasion in 2001. Mick Foley's scathing degradation of the company's over-indulgence titles in general towards the end of the storyline made clear the deep-rooted cyncisim that had developed to the once-revered prizes following months of mistreatment.

WWE in 2017 has, at times, proved itself a steadier hand its turn-of-the-century equivalent. Asuka's record-smashing title reign and undefeated streak showed an unparalleled level of patience and decorum, and the Universal Title remains unique in its placement over the shoulder of Brock Lesnar after creditable spells with Bill Goldberg and Kevin Owens.

'The Prizefighter' himself has suffered heavily in the aforementioned US Title feud. A revamp as the 'New Face Of America' required him to hold the strap as long as he could, not lose it three times in three months.

Other than John Cena, Rusev has been the safest bet with the secondary strap in the last decade. As a floundering SmackDown Live! star, he's already on the right roster to lift the title from AJ Styles and lift its stature back to something worth fighting for again.

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