10 WWE Stars In Desperate Need Of A Turn

5. Rusev

rusev lana
WWE.com

Much like the supernatural heel, the foreign menace has had its day as well.

Rusev's anti-USA persona generated serious heat in his debut year - so much so that he achieved the impossible and made Jack Swagger relevant again for a short while. But we're already seeing diminishing returns - his feud with Titus O'Neill is a tired retread of his work with Cena in 2015, and the famously patriotic American fans are only half-heartedly jeering the 'Super Athlete' in 2016.

While that may be because Titus is not over in the least, Rusev has also been damaged by his association with the dreadful League of Nations.

Depicting Rusev in the face role would show a progressive side to WWE, even if it were to be entirely illusory. Rusev has a good sense of comic timing, so he'd be able to pull off the 80's movie-style zingers so beloved of WWE's rage-inducing creative writers. Rusev is also incredibly adept at selling - his ankle looked to be in danger of being snapped throughout the aforementioned series with Swagger - so he'd doubtlessly be able to garner the sympathy required for fans to rally behind his comebacks.

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!