10 Recent WWE Burials We Just Can't Explain
5. Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE's '24' special on WrestleMania 34 lacked the punch of other profiles from recent years, perhaps because it lacked the likes of The Undertaker's concussion drama post-streak or the likes of Sting and Bill Goldberg selling the genuine pressure of performing on the 'Grandest Stage'.
There was, however, a rather awkward section dedicated to the 'Rusev Day' phenomenon that largely went unserviced by 2018's 'Show Of Shows'. He was exactly as over as the feature implied, selling t-shirts by the truckload and earning reactions that would have gone unmatched as a babyface on the night had it not been for the surprising and wonderful return of Daniel Bryan.
Then, as with now, Rusev was left for dead.
Happy Rusev Day was only ever happy in a fantasy (booked) land - the company never got as behind the gimmick as the fans, evidenced by endless defeats and a limp break-up with Aiden English and woeful follow-up feud with Shinsuke Nakamura.
'The King Of Strong Style' was a dead d*ck-punching heel when he lined up against the 'Bulgarian Brute' as their collective 2018s slumped to new lows, but their union in 2019 felt stale before it even came together. Without care or concern, both characters have been swallowed then spat back out by the malfunctioning WWE machine. Wins and losses may not matter, but the men experiencing them are still supposed to.