The history books will tell that Rusev lost to John Cena in the 'I Quit' match at Payback, but the actual ending tells a different story altogether. Indeed, it seems that WWE didn't much like the idea of either man losing outright, and were saved by someone's bright idea that Lana effectively throw in the towel for her man, costing him the bout. Undoubtedly, this will be a major reason for why Rusev and Lana split on television. Fans seem to dig Lana, mainly because she's easy on the eyes, but she also deserves credit for her performances to date - showing much more vulnerability than before, Lana has been excellent whilst Rusev bosses her around. Speaking of the big Bulgarian, the promotion seem very high on what he has to offer. Some online have compared the dynamic between Rusev and Lana to that of Marc Mero and Sable, whereby the female outshone the male as the bigger star, but that's not really the case here. Both have something to offer, and Rusev has shown he can work the WWE main event style effectively, so he should be fine even without his woman. What other things did we learn from WWE Payback? Where do you think the promotion will take the various angles and feuds from here? Let your voice be heard down in the comments section below!
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.
