7 Times WWE Ruined Rusev

6. That Awful Dolph Ziggler/Summer Rae Feud

rusev summer rae
WWE.com

Things got worse (much worse) when Summer Rae was pushed into the ongoing love triangle between Rusev, Lana and Dolph Ziggler. WWE even went so far as to have Rae propose to Rusev and play happy families. Meanwhile, fans wondered why this daytime soap-opera style nonsense was part of the promotion at all.

Reports surfaced that WWE wanted to provide something unique that would grab attention. It did, but not for the reasons they hoped.

Ziggler, who played the field with both Lana and Rae, also seemed to shove his success with the ladies in Rusev's face. In other words, he came across as the villain of the piece, not Rusev, and that further confused fans to the point they didn't care about the storyline.

By the time Rusev and Dolph clashed at SummerSlam 2015, people had decided to wash their hands of the debacle and hope WWE might do the same. When Lana and Rusev then revealed their real-life engagement to TMZ, WWE's writers panicked and penned a hasty finish to the angle.

Good riddance.

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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.