5 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Oct 8)

Downs...

3. Rusev Jobbed Out

On Monday Night Raw, Rusev was given a fresh twist to his storyline with Summer Rae. The Diva proposed to the Bulgarian, which is yet another turn in the ongoing saga which previously involved Lana and Dolph Ziggler. Just days later on Smackdown, the man was staring at the lights for Ryback. Even though Summer was involved in the bout, the finish was largely a clean defeat. This is confusing, because it seems the writing team are cold on Rusev right now. Many fans feel the guy has excelled as a talker since Lana was removed from his side. Regardless, he's clearly not a priority at the moment in WWE. That's a shame, because Rusev's excellent in-ring performances were clear for all to see at the turn of the new year. That rivalry with John Cena seems like a lifetime ago. It's understandable that the company would want to keep Ryback strong for an impending WWE Intercontinental Title bout against Kevin Owens, but did Rusev really need to be sacrificed? At one point, it looked like he may be inserted into the title hunt, but this loss was pretty damaging. If he is part of the Intercontinental scene, this defeat does nothing for him.