15 WWE Break-Ups That IMMEDIATELY Backfired
4. Lana Leaves Rusev (2015)
Prepare for a double pack of 'Ravishing Russian' attack.
Things seemed to be going swimmingly for Rusev and Lana until he blamed her for losing an 'I Quit' match to John Cena at Payback 2015. On the 18 May Raw, Ru-Ru tore strips off of Lana for quitting on his behalf. Sensing the chance to cause serious problems in someone else's relationship, so-called babyface Dolph Ziggler started flirting with Lana. "Good guy", eh?
On commentary, announcers alleged that the ‘Ravishing Russian’ was being “Americanised” by Ziggler. Jealous of somebody else earning Lana's affection, Rusev brought in Summer Rae as her replacement. That casting call made for a messy, confusing story which backfired on creative quickly. WWE were forced to end all of this once Rusev and Lana announced their real-life engagement later in the year.
Apparently, Vince McMahon wasn't happy about that. Yeah, apparently it was for the best that Lana and Dolph continued their Danny and Sandy from Grease-style teenage romance. Arguably the worst part of this entire story arc was that Ziggler looked like a meddling git for rushing in and stealing Rusev's would-be wife. Why? Because they were having an argument about a painful pay-per-view result? Again, what a guy.
It was evident instantly that Lana meant less without Rusev and vice versa. They'd been a superb package deal on TV, and it didn't seem logical to put a red pen through that just to explore Lana acting like she'd never tasted hamburgers or apple pie before. Red, white and (this) blew.