9 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (21 April - Results & Review)

7. Monday Was Also Rusev Day

WWE Raw Rusev Otis
WWE

It was only a matter of time before Rusev finally made his official return to WWE, and the Raw after WrestleMania was both the obvious and perfect opportunity.

The Bulgarian Brute interrupted an impromptu tag match between New Day and Alpha Academy before the bell rang. New Day rolled out of the ring and scurried, leaving Otis and Akira Tozawa to get demolished by the returning former United States Champion.

As a return, this was pretty paint-by-numbers, but it was measured well, was over huge in the building, and should be an intriguing addition to the roster. Will he be booked better than his last run with WWE? Will there be issues if he’s asked to slide too far down the card?

From a storyline perspective, Rusev immediately becomes a credible challenger for a Jey Uso or any other face champion. Hopefully, WWE will let him cut promos like he did in AEW, as he proved that he has skills on the mic.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.