– A fan on Twitter recently asked 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Bully Ray who he’d like to have induct he and D-Von Dudley into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. Ray responded by saying that if it were up to him he’d have everyone who was in the ECW Arena in February of 1997 – where he and D-Von hit their first 3D – induct them. However, since it’s a WWE Hall Of Fame he admitted names like Paul Heyman, Edge & Christian, or The Hardy Boyz would also be good options:
If it was totally up to me, I would want something completely different.
I would have every fan who was in the ECW Arena in Feb. ‘97 who saw me and Devon hit our first 3D induct us.
– Rusev has been training Lana hard ahead of their Mixed Match Challenge bout against the team of Elias and Bayley next week. WWE posted the following video of Rusev having Lana break boards in preparation for the match:
– Per Lavie Margolin on Twitter, Ring Of Honor (ROH) has sold nearly 4,000 tickets for its upcoming Supercard of Honor event – which goes down on WrestleMania 34 weekend – headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. Kenny Omega. The exact number of tickets sold at the time of the Tweet was 3,828, a new record for the promotion:
– WWE Hall Of Famers Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan will be participating in a Q&A session from the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa this upcoming Saturday. “The Nature Boy” took to Twitter to hype the event:
– Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that WWE’s Rusev Day calendar has been selling very well. So well, in fact, that the company ordered 5,000 more after their initial order of 2,500 dried up quicker than expected:
WWE ordered 5000 more Rusev Day calendars after their initial order of 2500 sold quicker than expected.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) February 6, 2018
– WWE recently released a video of Shayna Baszler, one of Ronda Rousey’s best friends, commenting on “The Rowdy One’s” WWE debut at the Royal Rumble. Baszler said she was just as surprised as everyone else, as Rousey kept it a secret from her friends because she wanted them to feel the same genuine excitement everyone else did. Baszler also noted that she believes Rousey will be just as dominant in WWE as she has been in everything else:
– SmackDown Live star Rusev was asked by a fan to bless his newborn baby, who just so happened to be born on “Rusev Day.” “The Bulgarian Brute” did in fact bless the child before responding to another fan, who asked Rusev to talk to his boss because he’s making him work on “Rusev Day.” Rusev said that his boss does the same thing:
Next week’s WWE SmackDown in Kansas City will feature Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens to crown a new #1 contender to the WWE Title. The winner will go on to face WWE Champion AJ Styles in the main event of the March 11th WWE Fastlane pay-per-view from Columbus, Ohio, which will be the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34.
Sami vs. Owens was made after SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan acknowledged the referee made a bad call in AJ’s 2-on-1 Handicap Match win over Sami and Owens at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday.
Next Tuesday’s SmackDown will also feature WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode defending his title against Rusev. Rusev earned the title shot by winning a Fatal 4 Way over Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal and Zack Ryder on tonight’s SmackDown.
SmackDown Live star Lana appeared on the Baby Huey & Bimbo Jimbo radio show earlier this week on 107.7 The Bone (San Francisco, CA). Topics discussed include the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, Rusev’s reaction to Lana joining the cast of Total Divas (and dropping her Russian accent) plus reports that she was in the WWE doghouse after news of her engagement went public while they were feuding on television.
You can listen to the full interview in the embedded audio player at the bottom of this article. Here are some highlights:
Women’s Royal Rumble
Lana said she’d “so, so, so grateful” to be a part of the historic event and was crying and screaming when she heard she’d be a part of it. She was overwhelmed with gratitude and relishes the opportunity to be part of such a positive milestone for women’s wrestling.
Rusev & Lana On Total Divas
“He definitely wanted to do it,” she said. “He fully supports me, and so he was excited to do it. He’s a character. He’s so funny. So, he’s just himself on that like ‘Sure if cameras want to follow me around that’s fine. I might just be naked at my pool. It’s not my fault the cameras are here.’ Which you guys are going to have to watch Total Divas. That might happen next week.”
Lana says she wasn’t worried about it damaging her WWE character because “we are storytellers.” When she is on WWE television, she portrays a Russian villain. On Total Divas, she is herself – and compares it to Hollywood stars who portray roles in movies.
“To me when just like when you watch a movie or you watch a TV show to me you know Nicole Kidman or Leonardo DiCaprio you know that they are actors, but also great actors find that extension of themselves. So, when I walk through that curtain I find the extension of myself of being the Ravishing Russian in there. We are actors, we are entertainers, and most of all we are story tellers…I was actually really excited because to me it’s giving the world the chance to see that we are story tellers.”
Reports That She Had Heat With Management After Her Engagement
Back in October 2015, TMZ broke the news that Rusev and Lana were engaged ‘in real life.’ Great news, except for the fact that the two were involved in a heated WWE storyline at the time that saw Lana aligned with Dolph Ziggler (who could forget those denim jackets?) and Rusev romantically linked to Summer Rae.
WWE scrambled to make sense of the situation, eventually acknowledging Lana and Rusev’s engagement. WWE.com wrote:
“The Ravishing Russian had been romantically linked to Dolph Ziggler in recent months and Rusev fielded a proposal from Summer Rae just last week, but it would appear that any lingering problems between the power couple have been resolved.”
There were reports that WWE management was understandably not happy about their storyline being undermined and there were reports that Lana had backstage heat as a result. In her chat with Baby Huey & Bimbo Jimbo, Lana set the record straight:
“The truth was that Vince McMahon just decided to go a different route, and that’s just what it was. Rusev and I were trending for like three days straight ‘Rusev and Lana are engaged’ He just made the decision at that time he goes ok I want to bring them back together…People are always going to talk. I think for 6 months after that the headline was Lana has nuclear heat, (laughter) and I am like great! You know, you’re talking about me.”
– Following yesterday’s WWE TV tapings in Laredo, Texas the dark match main event was a KFC Colonel Rumble match between WWE Champion AJ Styles and Rusev. Styles picked up the win by hitting Rusev with a Stone Cold Stunner. Footage from the match is likely to be used in an upcoming KFC commercial. Here’s the finish:
– WWE posted the following video of Bayley trying to impress her Mixed Match Challenge partner, Elias, with her guitar skills. Elias wasn’t impressed to say the least. Elias and Bayley will be taking on the team of Rusev and Lana in week five of the tournament:
Rusev & Lana are 1 of 6 teams that have been announced thus far for WWE’s upcoming Mixed Match Challenge tournament. The show is to debut on Facebook Live on January 16th, 2018 after Smackdown.
In preparation for the tournament, Rusev & Aiden English are helping Lana develop her wrestling skills.
WrestleMania season is arguably the best time in all of wrestling and the first quarter of 2018 will be no different. Earlier this week fans around the world witnessed New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, including Chris Jericho’s highly anticipated return to the promotion. Up next: WWE’s Royal Rumble on January 28th.
The Royal Rumble has more than earned its place as one of WWE’s premiere annual pay-per-view events. The Rumble has produced countless memorable moments since it’s inception back in 1988. Today, we’re looking at 3 of the most memorable WWE Superstar debuts that took place in the Rumble match.
Rusev
The ‘Bulgarian Brute’ made his main roster debut for WWE during the 2014 Rumble, making his appearance as the 6th entrant in the match. Whilst still using the first name Alexander (before WWE began dropping the first names of several Superstars), the former NXT standout was made to look like an absolute powerhouse alongside WWE’s more established acts such as Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk and Seth Rollins.
Rusev also played an integral part in one of the match’s best moments, the annual “Kofi Kingston spot,” when he caught Kofi as he was falling to the outside and rested him on the black mat guardrail, allowing the New Day member to leap back to the safety of the ring.
Rusev’s current run alongside Aiden English is arguably some of the best work of his WWE career and his ‘Rusev Day’ campaign has really taken off. With some momentum behind him, it will be interesting to see how Rusev performs later this month in the match that got him started on the main roster.
Vader
Vader is considered to be one of the greatest big man ever to compete in pro wrestling ring and for good reason. The 3-time WCW World Champion made his WWE debut during the 1996 Rumble match entering as the 13th participant. The ‘Mastodon’ eliminated Jake Roberts, Doug Gilbert and Savio Vega before being sent over the top rope by eventual winner, Shawn Michaels.
The following night, Vader took part in a memorable angle on Monday night RAW when he viciously assaulted then-WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. It was the first time that an ‘authority figure’ was attacked on WWE television.
Vader actually made an appearance on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s January 4th show in 1996, then dubbed ‘Wrestling World,’ he fought (in a losing effort) against Japanese legend Antonio Inoki…fairly similar circumstances to our final name:
AJ Styles
The Phenomenal AJ Styles
Was there really another choice for the top spot? The ‘Phenomenal One’ made his WWE debut during the 2016 Rumble and has been tearing through the WWE ever since.
Making his entrance as the third participant in the match, Styles received a thunderous ovation from the live crowd after weeks of rumors that he was WWE bound. The excitement over Styles’ WWE debut was amplified by the fact that the only other man in the ring was the controversial “chosen one,” Roman Reigns. AJ Styles’ entrance into the 2016 Royal Rumble was an iconic moment that will be remembered for years to come.
The former IWGP, TNA and Rev Pro Champion is now a staple of WWE programming, but a possible Rumble debut from AJ Styles seemed almost too good to be true after he competed at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 event just weeks prior. Styles battled Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on that show, a match that many are hoping is replicated in a matter of months at Wrestlemania 34.
The belief is Rusev Day t-shirts are selling well as WWEShop initially ran out of stock not long after announcing the shirt’s release.
Having debuted at the Royal Rumble in 2014, Rusev has been on the main roster for 4 years now and could be in-line for a considerable push given his recent popularity.
It appears Rusev & Lana are interested in entering the Mixed “Machka” Challenge as a team. Whether or not this leads to them teaming in the Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook remains to be seen, however.
With a babyface run looking likely for Rusev, a Rusev and Lana team in the MMC could be a way to fully turn both characters. On the other hand, the above video might not have been a serious announcement of their intentions to enter the Mixed Match Challenge. Rusev & Lana do have a history of announcing things on social media that WWE would rather they didn’t. The couple announced their engagement through social media in 2015 while in
Rusev & Lana do have a history of announcing things on social media that WWE would rather they didn’t. The couple announced their engagement through social media in 2015 while in storyline they were separated at the time.
– There have been rumors circulating that an XFL-like relaunch could be in the works from Vince McMahon. Deadspin reached out to WWE, and although they didn’t confirm an XFL relaunch specifically, they did admit McMahon is venturing out to “explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including football.” WWE Superstar Rusev took to Twitter to joke about the rumored XFL return:
– During last night’s (Sat. December 16, 2017) NXT Live Event in Largo, Florida, Hideo Itami wrestled his final match for NXT before shipping out for 205 Live this Tuesday. Itami took to Twitter to say his final goodbye to the NXT brand:
– In the dark main event following last night’s 205 Live tapings, WWE Champion AJ Styles successfully defended his title against Jinder Mahal. The pair did not appear on last night’s broadcast, however, WWE did air a video package hyping their feud. They will face off against one another at WWE’s Clash Of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) on December 17th.
– As noted, Rusev and Aiden English were added to the SmackDown Live Tag Team Title match at Clash Of Champions. The bout will now be a Fatal Four-Way between defending champions The Usos, The New Day, Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin, and Rusev & Aiden English.
Rusev and English earned their opportunity to participate in the match by defeating The New Day on SmackDown Live last night. WWE posted the following video of Rusev and English’s reaction to the news:
Cody Rhodes is a prime example of someone who left WWE and reached even greater levels of success on his own terms on the independent scene.
While working for WWE is the dream of most professional wrestlers, there are a lot of performers who we think have more potential in other promotions.
Here are 5 WWE superstars who I think would benefit from working elsewhere:
Dolph Ziggler:
Dolph Ziggler
Recent reports have suggested that Dolph Ziggler isn’t content in his current role at WWE. Having introduced Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode to the main roster with opening feuds that have seen him on the losing end overall, Dolph isn’t exactly progressing towards significant title opportunities that he was accustomed to previously in his career.
His current entrance, with no music, sums up his entire direction and drive at the moment: there is none! I don’t believe that this is due to him personally, but how he is being used within the company. The perfect example is his absence from this month’s Survivor Series PPV.
The plan for Dolph Ziggler should be to leave WWE, re-invent himself having toured other companies, and return to WWE a new man!
Zach Ryder:
The Hype Bros just don’t have the hype anymore; some may ask whether they ever had any hype at all. And since returning from a knee injury after 6 months off, Zach Ryder has been involved in more losing matches than winning. One of his last memorable moments came in the form of Wrestlemania 32:
But this is rumoured to have only come about because Neville had broken his ankle.
Since partnered with Mojo Rawley, The Hype Bros have been able to work their way into number 1 contender positions, but haven’t been able to convert these opportunities into meaningful title reigns. With Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin being pushed, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn potentially working as tag-team partners, as well as the return of Luke Harper and Erick Rowan as The Bludgeon Brothers, The Hype Bros aren’t likely to feature in many significant matches in the near future.
Another problem Ryder faces is his one-dimensional tag team partner, Mojo Rawley. Mojo Rawley won the Andre The Giant Battle Royale Memorial Match… and has done nothing with it; the year before Baron Corbin won the same match.
Ryder could simply part ways with his tag partner, but it then appears difficult to place him in the ring with other superstars who have overtaken him in the singles division. The worry would be that he ends up doing nothing, much like he is doing now.
Given the chance to leave WWE, Zach Ryder is just about young enough to alter his persona and break away from WWE, whilst also using his experience to put on good matches and build himself up out on the independent circuit.
It may seem unlikely, but let’s remember that Simon Gotch has done extremely well for himself since leaving WWE.
Gentleman Jack Gallagher:
Jack Gallagher is a shadow of his former self. The 205 Live superstar was a fantastic face, with brutal headbutts and an umbrella named William the Third! He has since turned heel and lost all moment that he had. I personally believe that he should have won the Cruiserweight Championship from Neville.
However, the main reason why Jack Gallagher should move away from WWE is centred around the division he is in: 205 Live. The show isn’t big enough for more than 1 or 2 main superstars, everyone else takes a backseat and can’t develop their career. Furthermore, after the departure of Austin Aries and Neville, WWE brought in Enzo Amore and Kalisto – they didn’t even promote superstars from within the division!
Jack Gallagher needs to leave and continue this persona with other companies where he can earn and take genuine steps forward, rather than being ignored. If I were him, I would be talking to Neville and other promotions, starting in the UK.
Chad Gable:
Unlike Zach Ryder, Chad Gable is currently part of a tag-team which could deliver in the next year. Gable has teamed up with Shelton Benjamin after Jason Jordan parted ways with American Alpha to seek success as a singles competitor. The truth is, Chad Gable is just as impressive on his own, and deserves to be on the singles scene as much as Jordan. Unfortunately for Gable, Jordan was given priority.
While Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin were able to defeat The Usos via countout, many say the match appeared weird and suspect an injury forced a quick end. However WWE’s willing to have the match at all shows a desire to push the newly formed tag-team which could lead to title opportunities in the future.
The main point is: if Chad Gable becomes a singles competitor, he should leave WWE. If he stays in a tag team, he should remain where he is already established. Chad Gable had a few singles matches, and put on a great performance against AJ Styles, but didn’t appear to be rewarded for it. He needs to be somewhere that casts him as a legitimate champion, which I believe is more achievable for him outside WWE.
Rusev:
Rusev looks the part, sounds the part, and sells an RKO better than anyone else. He is also active outside the ring, and entertaining on twitter.
The bad news for him is that WWE have cornered him into a stereotypical role that has no freedom or creativity. Getting Rusev to pursue nationalistic goals, like flag matches and Rusev Day, doesn’t develop his character and he just ends up helping others look better than he is.
Much like Dolph Ziggler, Rusev has also missed out on this month’s Survivor Series and is sat on the sidelines.
When he was featured on UpUpDownDown however, he didn’t appear as his in-ring character, and we were able to see the real Rusev which was much more entertaining. It appears that the in-ring persona is largely controlled by the WWE creative team, which is holding Rusev back. That’s not to say that Rusev isn’t successful in WWE, but I believe he has the potential to achieve even more outside the company.
There is no doubt that Rusev would draw huge numbers to any promotion outside of WWE; and he could finally explore new creative avenues that would only boost popularity among fans. I believe people would go to see him as an ex-WWE superstar, but then continue watching to see how he develops on his own.
Unfortunately I can’t see him make the move away from WWE as the lure of potential success remains present for him, but I wish he would take the opportunity to set himself free.
Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair’s “30 For 30” special aired last night on ESPN. The special documented the life and career of “The Nature Boy,” who is recognized as one of the greatest to ever step into the ring. Here are some reactions to the documentary from the wrestling world:
SmackDown Live commissioner Shane McMahon announced on Twitter that Jinder Mahal will defend the WWE Championship against AJ Styles on next week’s show, which will be taped from Manchester, England.
WWE had previously announced that AJ Styles would face Rusev next week for the final spot on Smackdown Live’s Survivor Series team. In light of the news, Rusev says AJ Styles has effectively “quit” their match and he’s going to Survivor Series.
The Bulgarian Brute showed his lighter side as he laughed, mimicked and joked around with a quieter AJ Styles on the UpUpDownDown Madden Tournament. The two superstars played out a rematch of the 2017 Super Bowl between AJ’s home town team: the Atlanta Falcons; and Rusev’s choice: the New England Patriots.
Before watching the amusing match up, it is worth checking out the final from the previous tournament that featured AJ Styles and Seth Rollins which became heated in the final moments of the game.
AJ walked out before the game had finished, exclaiming that his loss came from the match being played on PS4 rather than Xbox. Style’s then threw his runner-up trophy on the floor, breaking it and causing a piece to fly off and injure a WWE official!
A rematch was declared using an Xbox instead:
Sadly this did not favour the Prince Of Phenomenal as The Champ (Seth Rollins) picked up the big W again.
In contrast, safe in the knowledge that Rusev has little NFL knowledge, AJ appeared much more relaxed and tolerant of the Bulgarian’s comedic value.
Throughout the encounter Rusev provided an unorthodox style that contrasted AJ’s methodical dominance, resulting in a secure win for the Prince Of Phenomenal. However, from the moment the camera’s started rolling, AJ couldn’t keep a straight face. Rusev even broke into song, serenading AJ with his own version of “I Believe I Can Fly”.
The beauty of UpUpDownDown’s Madden Tournament is seeing superstars in their natural environment backstage. Sometimes it’s possible to tell when an act is being put on, but it’s great to see Seth Rollins nervous, or Rusev laughing and joking as he clumsily tries to play a game that he’s learning properly for the first time.
If you watch all of the rounds, it’s easy to catch guest appearances from other superstars who just walk into the room by accident. Titus O’Neil, Jimmy & Jey Uso, and the rest of The New Day all make regular appearances as they take sides and cause chaos, while also giving us a unique insight behind the scenes of WWE superstars.
Here is a bonus video that hi-lights the beautiful hilarity which UpUpDownDown captures:
– WWE posted the following video of Rusev cutting a promo on Randy Orton ahead of their match at tonight’s (Sun. October 8, 2017) Hell In A Cell pay-per-view (PPV). “The Bulgarian Brute” vowed to break “The Viper” and promised everyone will celebrate “Rusev Day”:
– There has been no word yet on when Darren Young will return to WWE TV, however, he has been active on live events lately. He has been working as a heel lately after teaming with Elias, Goldust and Dash Wilder in a losing effort against R-Truth, Heath Slater, Rhyno and Apollo Crews:
– WWE provided an update on the Vince McMahon’s condition after being assaulted by Kevin Owens last week on SmackDown Live. According to the storyline, Vince McMahon is that he suffered three fractured ribs in the attack.
– The Bella Twins’ new wine brand launched on Tuesday. Belle Radici, which means ‘Beautiful Roots’ in Italian, had a limited release and is mostly sold out already. For more information, visit BellaRadici.com.
Huge THANK U 2 everyone that tuned in 2 DWTS @DancingABC, buying @belleradiciwine (almost sold out!) & for our @Total_Bellas supporters!??N
– After a disappointing and very quick loss to Randy Orton at SummerSlam, Rusev visited his home in Bulgaria to regroup and refocus himself. Rusev is now using a ‘Legend Killer’ gimmick and got revenge on Randy Orton last night on SmackDown. Orton picked up a win over Aiden English on SmackkDown, only to be confronted by Rusev afterwards. Rusev then defeated Orton in just a few seconds thanks to an assist from English.
For the past three weeks on RAW, John Cena and Roman Reigns have had a confrontation in the ring. That most likely will not be happening on Monday’s go-home episode of RAW before WWE No Mercy on September 24th.
Cena will be heading to China this weekend for Sunday’s SmackDown Live Event in Shenzhen. Monday’s episode of RAW is in San Jose, California. A flight from Shenzhen to San Jose would take roughly 17 hours.
Cena was beatdown by Braun Strowman on this past Monday’s episode of RAW and WWE could use that to explain Cena’s absence.
Rusev to continue feud with Randy Orton
Rusev has lost two PPV matches in a row since returning from injury. He lost to John Cena in a Flag match at WWE Battleground. Rusev then lost Randy Orton at SummerSlam in a match that lasted 10 seconds.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rusev is expected to continue his feud with Randy Orton heading into WWE Hell in a Cell next month.
On Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown, Rusev was interviewed backstage. During the interview, Rusev discussed his loss to Randy Orton at SummerSlam and stated that it was the biggest loss of his career. Rusev said that he has lost his killer instinct, but he knows what he has to do to get it back. Rusev claimed that he was going to “break a legend” and walked away.
– Samoa Joe was in Birmingham, Alabama earlier this week getting his knee checked out, according to PWInsider. Joe is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks, so he should be back on TV by mid-October.
– The next episode of Table For 3 with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and Sting is rumored to premiere on the WWE Network on Monday, September 11th after RAW.
– Earlier this week, Rusev noted on Twitter that he’s ‘going home’ and said, “Goodbye America.” He and Lana are visiting Bulgaria. She tweeted the following on Friday afternoon:
– Primo Colon and Darren Young have been cleared to return to action. Based on this tweet from Darren Young, it looks like he could be competing at tonight’s WWE live event from Witchita, Kansas.
There have been unsubstantiated rumors that Rusev and Lana are unhappy and asked for their release
Lana vehemently denied the reports on Twitter
Rusev appears to be trolling by thanking WWE’s front office
We noted before how there were rumors of former United States Champion Rusev and his real life wife Lana asking for their WWE release.
The reason behind it was said to be that Rusev was unhappy with the way he has been treated by the company since the Bulgarian Brute has returned from his injury.
While these rumors lost their pace after Lana told people not to believe in them on twitter, they have returned after the Bulgarian star made a cryptic tweet.
Rusev posted an obscure tweet from his official twitter account saying ‘Thank You’ to the WWE Front Office and ‘everybody involved’ a few hours ago as seen below:
I want to thank @WWE front office TR and everybody involved. THANK YOU
This tweet has since become a hot topic of discussion and has reignited the rumors of the couple possibly leaving the Biggest Wrestling Company in the world.
Though so far, no reputed source has confirmed what’s his status with the company and WWE Officials have also been quiet so it’s hard to say whether the former Champion is hinting at his future or just trolling the fans.
It’s worth mentioning here that Rusev has lost both his PPV matches since returning to WWE TV in July. His first match was against John Cena at Battleground and then he lost to Randy Orton in a very short match at Summerslam.
Rusev hasn’t accomplished much in WWE since returning from his injury and the Bulgarian Brute has lost both his PPV matches since his return during the July 4rth episode of SmackDown Live.
His first match was against John Cena at Battleground which was still of a decent length but his second PPV match since the return was against Randy Orton which he lost in about 9 seconds.
We noted before how this led to rumours of the former United States Champion being unhappy with the company and asking for his and his wife Lana’s WWE release.
While Lana shot these rumours down, Rusev’s quick loss at SummerSlam still made fans wonder if Officials are unhappy with the WWE Star for some reason.
However, in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer cleared the air about the WWE Star’s status and revealed that his loss was just a way to kick off a lengthy feud between the Rusev and Randy Orton.
According to the Newsletter, the idea is that their first match was a fluke and while both the stars did not appear on SmackDown Live this week, their feud is expected to continue in upcoming weeks.
The reason behind Orton’s victory was due to the belief that the Viper needed a win after his recent lacklustre PPV losses against Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal.
Furthermore, it’s being said that the way their SummerSlam match was booked was a decision in Randy’s favour rather than being against Rusev.
Earlier yesterday it was rumoured that current SmackDown Live Star Lana along with her husband and former United States Champion Rusev have asked for their WWE release.
The reason behind it was said to be the couple being unhappy with the direction of Rusev’s character on the WWE Programming since he has returned from his injury.
According to several reports, Rusev was originally supposed to get involved in the WWE title picture against Randy Orton upon his return, but the decision to put the title on Jinder Mahal forced Officials to nix those plans.
After this Rusev’s return was held off by the company for weeks as they didn’t have anything planned for him and even after his return, the Bulgarian Brute hasn’t done much on SmackDown Live.
First, he was defeated by John Cena in a flag match at Battleground and just recently Randy Orton defeated him in a very short match at SummerSlam.
All this was said to be the reason why the duo was upset and wanted to leave the company though now Lana herself has confirmed that these reports are false.
A fan asked the WWE Star on twitter if she has asked for her release from the company and the female star confirmed that these reports are not true:
That's called don't believe the pathetic villagers that pretend that they are "journalist" with real facts… hahahahah!!!! https://t.co/EfaoxRsdhJ
Though it’s worth mentioning here that Rusev did not appear on SmackDown Live this week and it’s not known if the creatives have anything planned for him after his match with Randy Orton.
WWE Superstar Rusev recently did an interview with The Sporting News to promote tonight’s (Sun. August 20, 217) SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. During the interview, Rusev discussed the WWE’s developmental system, Triple H influencing his career, and who influenced his finishing sequence inside the ring. Check out the highlights here below:
WWE’s developmental system:
“The best thing that ever happened to the developmental system is Triple H being in charge.”
Triple H influencing his career in NXT:
“Everything happened really, really fast. I was picking up steam a little bit and I wasn’t even on TV in NXT. I had a dark match with Dolph Ziggler, and Triple H was there at the time and, he had never seen me before, and he was like, ‘Oh, who’s that kid?’ I was very fortunate that Triple H was there that day to see me perform.”
Terry Taylor suggesting he use The Accolade and Arn Anderson suggesting he stomp people in the back before doing it:
“In this business there are 1,000 people that are going to give you advice, you just have to pick what’s working for you, what’s good, and what’s bad for you. But you can’t say it’s bad either.”
You can check out Rusev’s full interview with The Sporting News by visiting this link.
