10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (July 19)

7. Why Vince McMahon Shortened Rusev's Name

Rusev Lana
WWE.com

"Ugh, Alexander", said Vince McMahon as he explained why WWE had to drop Rusev's forename from the act before it was too late.

Speaking on a Bulgarian chat show in his homeland (per Wrestling Inc), Rusev disclosed how one conversation with the boss changed everything for him. To Vince, the 'Alexander' first name was an abomination he needed to destroy before it had a negative impact on Ru. His reasoning? Fans might start calling Rusev "Alex".

Yes, that's it. In McMahon's mind, this would be a terrible thing. As 'Alex Rusev', his star would become a "Russian/Bulgarian villain". It doesn't take a member of Mensa to spot the flaw in this argument; Rusev has been cast as an anti-American xenophobic's nightmare on and off for years in WWE anyway.

The first name was dropped in 2014 too, and Rusev continued working his USA-bashing gimmick for a good while after that. The timing here doesn't add up, and Vince's point is just a tad skewed. Why worry about someone's name conjuring up preconceptions when you're going to book them that way anyway?

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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.