WWE: Rusev Is About To Pay A Dear Price And Wrestling Fans Owe Him, Big-Time
“Rusev udrya Rusev machka!”
The Bulgarian Brute has made quite the splash in the media over the last few days as news broke of his and Lana’s engagement in spite of a storyline where they appear to be feuding with one another.
The initial report came from — who else? — TMZ, but it didn’t take the gossip site overturning any rocks for the scoop.
No, Lana (Catherine Joy Perry) made it easy for everyone by posting a photo of her engagement ring to her social media account.
This came after news that she and Rusev had bought a house together.
While you would think this should be a happy time for the pair, it’s not. Or at least it won’t be, according to Dave Meltzer of the famous Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Meltzer said that WWE CEO Vince McMahon was furious over the way the leak came about, with Lana initiating it. Since McMahon likes to maintain a stranglehold on the WWE’s storylines, he was none too pleased due to the fact that Rusev had just gotten “engaged” to Summer Rae on television.
By the Bulgarian Brute and his long-time valet living their lives, they majorly screwed up those plans, and whenever you mess with what’s best for business, McMahon has a tendency to “react” by decommissioning your push.
Therefore, wrestling fans are bracing for a huge drop in Rusev’s “stock” as a superstar. While it will likely hurt his positioning for the next several months, this is a case of “taking one for the team.”
Why?
Because the ongoing storyline between Rusev/Summer Rae and Dolph Ziggler/Lana has been painful to watch. Log on to any wrestling forum, and there are literally thousands of comments deriding these otherwise top performers.
Well, not them so much, but the angle.
Going way back to June when this “hot mess” first began, Wrestling Forum was riddled with haters.
“I personally hate this storyline,” wrote one commenter, adding that it felt like it was “just to put Lana over, but why in the h*** would you do that? She doesn’t even wrestle.”
Another fan commented how it made him actually hate (face) Dolph Ziggler.
“Basically he is an old d****e who dresses like a teenager and is taking advantage of a girl who is on the rebound. We all know the type, or have battled the type when in long relationships that went south.”
Not pretty, in other words. And those comments were four months ago. For the last few pay-per-views and several Raw/Smackdown episodes, fans have been forced to endure a wooden face version of Lana, a leathery creep version of Ziggler, and a fish-throwing farce version of Rusev.
In other words, it hasn’t been good for any of their characters, but worse, it’s been excruciating for the fans.
Since Rusev clearly has more to lose than Lana with this information coming out — after all, WWE uses valets way less than they do monster heels — it’s about time the WWE Universe got together and sent some thank-you cards (and maybe a few donations) to the Bulgarian Brute’s brand new Nashville address for saving them from the storyline.
However, if Rusev is down for the next few months, he won’t necessarily be out. After all, in May, 1996, a guy referred to in wrestling circles as “Triple H” broke kayfabe to say goodbye to friends Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, who were departing for then-rival company WCW.
As WhatCulture points out, Triple H suffered a prolonged losing streak for giving the turncoats hugs in front of the WWE audience. However, he took the career dip with such dignity that he would eventually win his way back into Vince McMahon’s heart, and to the top of the card.
Do you think Rusev will experience an extended losing streak from his engagement, and if so, would you agree with Vince McMahon for forcing it on him?
[Image via WWE]
