7 Times WWE Ruined Rusev

7. Splitting Him From Lana In The First Place

rusev lana
WWE.com

WWE will continue to sporadically acknowledge that Rusev and Lana are an item on television, but the blonde Ludmilla Drago clone doesn't accompany her "Bulgarian Brute" to the ring these days. In fact, Lana barely resembles the same character she played back when the pair were inseparable.

It all started back in 2015 when WWE decided to try splitting the couple.

After Rusev lost to John Cena at Payback in an "I Quit" match (due to Lana submitting on his behalf), he reprimanded Lana on Raw and sent her packing. Later that night, she kissed Dolph Ziggler and turned babyface for the first time. It was all rather weird, like WWE suddenly lost interest in the package.

Splitting the pair proved a massive mistake. Without Lana's grand introductions or promises that he'd crush all opposition that stood before him, Rusev shed some of that majestic heel aura. Since then, creative have been scrambling to try and fix the problem they created.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.