At the Showcase of the Immortals, a determined Dolph Ziggler would challenge Rusev to a title unification match, with the winners title being the title that continues on while the other is retired. The reason for this is that the US title is more of a prop than anything at this point, and the last few reigns have demonstrated this. Dean Ambrose held the title for 351 days yet seldom even defended it. Holding the championship did little to truly elevate him; Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns as Tag Team Champions did more for their careers, however. Furthermore, the Intercontinental Championship has a longer and more prestigious history in WWE itself, while the U.S. title is a remnant of another era, when there were other territories. If WWE was comfortable in getting rid of the World Heavyweight Championship, whats stopping them from doing the same with the U.S. Championship? In this match, Ziggler would obviously feel disadvantaged, especially in terms of size. Rusev would show his usual physical superiority, yet Dolph would keep coming, showing his never-say-die attitude. This in itself would be a representation of the Russia vs. USA feud: Russia as the intimidating, nearly unstoppable force, versus the proud and determined United States that keeps getting up when it has been hurt. The match would be very much in Rusevs favour, with him using all of his power moves. Towards the end, however, Rusev would lock his Accolade submission hold onto Ziggler, who would be close to tapping, only for him to (somehow) manage to get onto his feet, lift himself (and Rusev) up, and fall backwards, releasing the hold. As Rusev would attempt his signature kick, Dolph would duck and hit his Zigzag finisher for the pin and the win, unifying the Intercontinental and United States Championships, and ending Rusevs year-long undefeated streak. Ziggler would hold up both belts and show them off proudly to the WWE Universe, who would be on their feet cheering for him.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
