10 WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Impulse Reactions
2. He's Had Worse (Rusev) Days
Rusev's high key success with audiences since last September's inaugural 'Rusev Day' patter has yielded a low key return of excellent matches that would have once resulted in a push beyond what he currently receives. This is not your da's WWE though, and having never been first choice of the actual decision makers, he's been forced to wait his turn for a title shot that ultimately arrived several months too late.
The Jinder Mahal push has highlighted an all-too-real reversion to old habits in terms of how non-American stars are pushed, and with Vince McMahon not that a*sed about conquering Bulgaria (or Russia) any time soon, Rusev's stock plummeted despite t-shirts sales (and the investment those investments represent) almost certainly inflating his overall value.
That he's forced to hop between heel and babyface with defter dexterity than The Big Show makes matters worse, but his contests with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles in 2018 have proven far superior than their matches with each other, and this WWE Championship match against Styles was a reminder of the 'Phenomenal One's former form. AJ's lacked a competitive, emotional effort like this in some time. The win felt earned - appropriate considering his opponent. Rusev shouldn't be a one-and-done, but it's hard to imagine a SummerSlam supercard that affords him similar prominence.