In a strange turn of events, WWE announced on Thursday that Rusev will no longer be competing against The Undertaker in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Chris Jericho, who had previously been announced for the 50-man Rumble, will take his place and challenge the Dead Man instead.
The initial news that Rusev would be facing The Undertaker in a casket match came out of nowhere, as the two have had little to no interaction on television. In what some took as a thinly-veiled reference to his standing with the company, Rusev tweeted the following in response to the match announcement:
Bury me softly, Brother https://t.co/IWnBvL20Ez
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 11, 2018
Earlier today, TMZ Sports posted a video of Rusev and Lana in Los Angeles, CA talking about the upcoming casket match. They said The Undertaker was old news and past his prime, which apparently did not go over too well.
TMZ’s headline actually stated that Rusev claimed he was going to retire the Undertaker and “crush his old ass.” Undertaker’s wife Michelle McCool took notice:
Had to listen to see if “crush his old a$$” was ACTUALLY said! Guess some people are smarter than others…??? https://t.co/avOLWKORV8
— $ McCool (@McCoolMichelleL) April 12, 2018
Within a matter of hours, the decision was made to pull Rusev from the match. Rusev’s wife Lana tweeted that she refuses to let her husband compete in a casket match and told WWE officials to find a replacement.
All over the world, little boys and girls are celebrating #RusevDay, they smile for the greatest Superstar ever ! I’ve already spoke with @WWE officials to change that match because I REFUSE to let my husband @RusevBUL compete in a Casket Match at #WWEGRR! Happy #RusevDay
— CJ “Lana” Perry (@TheCJPerry) April 12, 2018
Prior to WrestleMania, PWInsider reported that Rusev was unhappy and requested to be released. He was later moved from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal to the United States Championship match, where he took the pinfall. This latest development does not bode well for Rusev’s standing with the company.
Before, I beat #TheUndertaker for @wwe title. At #GreatestRoyalRumble, I’m gonna BURY his ass…#KingOfTheCasketMatch pic.twitter.com/rLThP1lJgC
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) April 12, 2018
Update: Rusev tweeted the following about being pulled from the casket match:
Life is life….. it will be #RusevDay somewhere
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 12, 2018