Why WWE Dropped The Ball With Rusev

Rusev Lana
WWE

Approaching Monday's return with a bit of earnest assessment (because that's presumably where WWE started with it, regardless of where they finished), how well exactly did the company expect this idea to go down?

Rusev is a popular sort amongst online fans, and with the right gimmick (undefeated US Champion, Rusev Day) has proven that he can get over to a pay-per-view/shirt-selling degree. The masses have embraced him before, with tweaked guises, and the old adage was always "over is over", so the company would be stupid act so robustly in opposition to his success.

Stupid, or disorganised and stupid. Stupid, or disorganised, disinterested and stupid. Stupid, or disorganised, disinterested and stupid enough to think that bringing this f*cking cucking storyline back out of the blue was the perfect way to reintroduce a much-loved wrestler as a heel.

Babyfaced by his absence let alone the fact that people just seem to really enjoy him, Rusev's moustache and slimmer build were further new elements of his overall offering just waiting for the embrace of a crowd rapt with joy over his reemergence. This was taken away literally the second he stomped back onto the Raw stage.

CONT'D...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett