10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Rusev
5. Russian Flag Controversy
Rusev's old anti-USA gimmick naturally led him to confrontations with swathes of American wrestlers desperate to defend their country's honour. A string of chest-thumping patriots stepped to 'The Bulgarian Brute,' including Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Sheamus - who's particularly well-known for being a proud American Each one ultimately failed to slow Rusev's rise, but Big Show, right in the middle of his foe's initial push, was at least able to get one over on him.
Rusev and Lana were prone to unfurling the Russian flag whenever they appeared on Raw. On a September 2014 episode, Big Show decided that he'd seen enough, and came down to the ring to run the duo off. He wasn't finished, though: with a big Cheshire Cat grin on his face, Show grabbed the flag with both hands, then yanked it down from the rafters, drawing a big pop.
Understandably, this degradation of a natural symbol didn't go over too well in Russia, and there was enough outrage to force WWE into issuing the following apology on their official website:-
"We at WWE would like to apologize to the Russian people for the incident on Monday Night Raw that could have been construed as disrespect for their nation's flag."
Nothing major, but clearly enough to leave the company red-faced. That didn't stop them from removing the footage from their YouTube channel, however.