10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Feb 3)
1. Dusty Rhodes Wanted To Make Rusev A Genie Character
Rusev and Lana have branched out since their early days on the main roster mimicking Ivan and Ludmilla Drago from Rocky IV; although the Russian vibes remain, the romantically-linked pair are much less one-dimensional as characters on Raw and Rusev does much more talking than he once did.
Things could have been very different if Rusev's words on the Talk Is Jericho podcast are to be believed.
Back before NXT, it was Florida Championship Wrestling that acted as WWE's developmental system. There, Rusev learned from the now-deceased Dusty Rhodes that he would be playing the role of a genie who appeared at will from a magic lamp.
The whole experiment lasted around three weeks before officials changed their minds and came up with the 'Bulgarian Brute' character, but Rusev did record a number of promos that had him appearing out of thin air.
Teaming with Jinder Mahal in meaningless mid-card matches on Raw may represent a drop down from being United States Champ, but things could be much worse for Rusev; it's hard to see a run as the genie making it to the main roster at all, for example.
What other big wrestling facts did you learn this week? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section below!