WWE News: Backstage Update On Lana And Rusev Breaking Up — Will It Happen At WWE Payback?
For nearly two months, WWE keeps pushing the idea that Rusev and Lana will be splitting up at some point in either the near or distant future. Well, it appears that the breakup could be happening as early as next Sunday’s Payback pay-per-view, where John Cena defends his United States Championship against Rusev in an “I Quit” match.
John Cena has never submitted or said “I Quit” in his WWE career, and it’s unlikely that WWE will have him do so now. So, most WWE fans are predicting that Cena will win and that he’ll win thanks to Lana throwing in the towel, which will force the referee to stop the match, and name John Cena as the winner.
It’s been reported previously that Vince McMahon is a huge fan of Lana, and that he has plans to make her the face of the Divas division. McMahon’s idea for Lana’s babyface turn is to have her reveal that she’s really American. There has been some talk of her changing her name to CJ, due to her real name being Catherine Jo, but as of right now, the plan is to not change her name.
There is some concern that Lana and Rusev won’t work on their own, and the fans will feel that one without the other isn’t any good. There have been some comparisons to the Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez split, where after they broke up, nobody really cared about them. WWE is hoping that doesn’t happen to Rusev and Lana.
Most people believe that a split would hurt Lana more than Rusev, but at the same time, there are some who feel that Rusev’s gimmick as the anti-American bad guy doesn’t have much longevity, however, he’s done fairly well with it so far.
The Rusev and Lana breakup may not happen at the Payback pay-per-view, but it’ll likely happen at the following night’s RAW. WWE feels that — due to the recent “WE WANT LANA!” chants — Lana will be a huge babyface in the short term, but the concern is — as previously mentioned — how she’ll fare in the long term. Furthermore, nobody is exactly sure what her role will be after the breakup. It’s extremely possible that she’ll eventually get in the ring and wrestle, but, nobody knows how good she really is, as she hasn’t had a match during her time in WWE, however, the word is that she is a very good natural athlete and that she won’t have any trouble making the transition to being an in-ring performer.
[Image via WWE]
