9 Things We Learned Watching Southpaw Regional Wrestling

Support for Rusev has been continuously swelling for a while now, and with his turn as the lovable, friendly farmer Big Bartholemew in SRW, it's likely going to reach a fever pitch. The only thing about Rusev that makes him an effective heel is the fact that he's a "foreigner", which is no longer a viable reason to boo someone in 2017.

Meanwhile he has all the right traits to be an ideal babyface: his selling is amazing, he's good for laughs, can get it done in the ring, and is great with facial expressions. Add all that to the fact that he's more or less been booked as a face in some of his recent feuds (particularly the Roman Reigns program) and there's no reason not to turn him.

Big Bartholemew is the quintessential 1980s rasslin' good guy: a down-on-his-luck country boy just trying to make an honest living when Mr. Mackleroy, the evil banker comes along and forecloses on his farm. Mackelroy, played by Tyler Breeze, is an over-the-top version of the Ted DiBiase/IRS archetype with a fake mustache that constantly falls off, who does the unthinkable by putting Bart's farm up for sale.

In an interview with Bobski, Clint poses this question: "You've got a lot of issues with the banker, Mr. Mackelroy. He's been issuing some challenges. How do you respond to this blowhard?"

Bart replies with, "Uhh, yep."

As he stands there clad in nothing but a straw hat and dungarees, hands stuffed uncomfortably deep inside his denim, Bartholemew stumbles and stutters through a promo, shouting out all his neighbors who "work hard for the chickens", all the while fighting to keep a straight face. You can't help but want to hug this guy.

Rusev is the hero we deserve as well as the one we need.