When Rusev lost the WWE United States Championship (and his undefeated streak) to John Cena at WrestleMania 31 in 2015, the Bulgarian didn’t take it well.
After failing to regain the title, Rusev would blame his manager Lana, played by his then-girlfriend and future-wife CJ Perry.
What followed was a love triangle over the Summer, in which Rusev aligned with Summer Rae, while Lana had an on-screen romantic relationship with Dolph Ziggler.
The Kiss
On the May 18, 2015 Monday Night Raw, Lana confirmed her relationship with Ziggler, kissing the two-time former World Heavyweight Champion.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on ‘The Sessions,’ Perry recalled rehearsal for the angle, and having to practice kissing in front of the then-WWE CEO (via Wrestling News.)
“It’s Ace [John Laurinaitis] Vince [McMahon, Dolph, and Miro. We had to practice the kiss and Miro is turning red in the corner. Vince is like, ‘What? We’re all adults. What’s the problem? We’re all adults. It’s professionalism. Don’t be weird.’ So we do it, and Vince goes, ‘No, no, no, no, way slower.’ He doesn’t fully kiss Johnny Ace, but he gets like this close. I mean, it was hilarious. Dolph is dying.”
“He doesn’t fully kiss Johnny Ace, but he gets like this close.”
CJ Perry on Vince McMahon’s attempts to teach her how to kiss Dolph Ziggler
Perry added that when she recently rewatched the kiss with a friend, it was noticed how slow she and Ziggler kiss.
She adds that McMahon “wanted it to be innocent,” as if she had never kissed a man before.
