10 Times WWE Mocked What We Really Wanted

2. Rusev Day

Demon Vince McMahon
WWE

It used to be that your favourite slender, shorter, internet darling type was considered too niche or too boring to get the rocket strapped to him by Vince McMahon.

And while it elicited a certain anger and or sadness, it was always a pipe dream. You knew what you signed up for. Marty Jannetty didn't grace the VHS cover of WrestleMania VI; Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior did, and they looked even more of a spectacular phenomenon than the lightning on the background.

But there are rules, or at least they used to be.

Surely, you were allowed to invest in Rusev without indulging some naive message board fantasy. He was a hulking specimen of a man who was a from-scratch product of the WWE system. He wasn't tainted by the stench of drawing buzz in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla or anything. He didn't perform a suicide dive. More encouragingly still, he had the versatility to get over beyond his one-note forrin menace schtick. He was really funny! Vince likes comedy just as much as jingoism!

If you built a WWE Superstar from the ground up, he'd look like Randy Orton. If you built a WWE wrestler Vince might actually f*cking push as a babyface, he'd look like Rusev.

Not so; according to a 2020 appearance on Ryback's podcast, Rusev detailed a conversation with Vince, in which he was told that fans were just "mocking" him.

In reality, Vince mocked you for getting behind the act because he knows better.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!