7 Ways Feuding With John Cena Has Hurt Rusev

5. The Russian Supporter Angle Is Losing Steam Fast

There's a lot of negativity in the news when it comes to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It's why WWE created the Rusev character in the first place. He's really Bulgarian (as the tattoo on his arm tells us) and Lana's really American. It's pro wrestling, though. They're playing character and they do a really good job of it. A big reason why the Russian angle was done is because Putin gets a lot of bad press for being a tyrant that pressures people into doing what he wants. He also has made things difficult for people in the Ukraine. It's not like Russia back in the 1980s when Rocky IV was going on and Ivan Drago was painted as this evil guy, but WWE is trying to tell the story that way. If you look at things now, Russia isn't in the news that much. A lot of the heat from just bringing out a Russian flag is gone. They also seemed to have toned down all the talk about how awful America is. A wrestling heel like Rusev needs to do more than just wave a Russian flag in the air to get booed. There just isn't that much to the character at this point. At least the tank at WrestleMania was cool.