10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Rusev
Vladimir Putin, cuckoldry, and everything in between.
Rusev rarely gave the impression that he was truly happy in WWE.
While 'The Bulgarian Brute' never mailed it in onscreen, his social media accounts were a hive of teased dissent. Ru-Ru was never one to hide his dissatisfaction. Though he cloaked his frustrations in snark and other faint veils, it felt like a month couldn't pass without the former United States Champion dropping some kind of hint, sparking constant speculation that he was on his way out of the promotion.
If he did want out, Rusev got his wish on 15 April - albeit at the most inopportune moment imaginable. A wrestler who had pledged $20,000 of his own money to help struggling WWE staff was cut lose as part of the company's Black Wednesday releases. Though he has almost certainly made enough money to sustain himself through tough economic conditions, the global health crisis means it could be months before he finds employment again.
Regardless, Rusev will be a man in demand. The consensus is that only WWE's mishandling stopped him from becoming a megastar, and that consensus is correct: looking at this list, it's tough to think of a modern wrestler Vince McMahon has screwed with more than Rusev...
10. Praising Vladimir Putin
They toned it down as the year's progressed, but Rusev and Lana's initial main roster act saw the duo presented as a couple of Russophillic anti-Americans, planting them firmly in textbook "evil foreign heel" territory. Though Bulgarian, Rusev was referred to as a 'Hero Of The Russian Federation,' and with Lana as his mouthpiece, he spent his time locked in nation vs. nation power struggles.
The duo would constantly cut promos trumpeting Russia's apparent superiority, which had its ups and downs. The gimmick made people boo them, but it supposedly brought Rusev legitimate heat in his home country, and Lana's reference to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash in 2014 attracted bags of negative press - as did their constant praise of Vladimir Putin.
The Russian president often cropped up in their work, with his image projected onto the Titantron as a means of drawing heat. This always felt a little cheap, but given the controversy surrounding Russia, Donald Trump, and alleged election hacking years later, WWE would do well to scrub it from history.