WWE News: The Real Reason Rusev And Aiden English Became A Team

One of the most surprising breakout stars of 2018 so far is Rusev. This is surprising because Rusev has been in the WWE on the main roster for a few years now, but found himself aimlessly floundering on the mid-card. However, something big happened for Rusev this year. The WWE paired him up with another star that had no real direction in Aiden English, and somehow the two ended up skyrocketing in popularity.

A highlight moment came when Aiden English came out and introduced Rusev as the first entrant in the Royal Rumble match this year, and the fans went nuts. This is even more impressive since Rusev told the Mirror in an interview that their pairing was supposed to be nothing more than a “joke.”

Rusev And His Fall From Grace In The WWE

The big Bulgarian was a former WWE NXT champion and went on a long winning streak when he debuted on the main roster. However, after John Cena snapped his winning streak, Rusev spiraled down the card and ended up in a supporting role in a faction led by Sheamus, whose only purpose was to put over Roman Reigns.

The WWE took away his manager and mouthpiece in his wife Lana, and he started to lose more often than not. After a temporary teaming with Junder Mahal in early 2017, Rusev ended up injured and returned on SmackDown Live, only to find himself with no real direction.

That is when the WWE paired up Rusev and Aiden English, who was previously in a tag team called The Vaudevillains before the WWE terminated the contract of his partner, Simon Gotch.

The Rusev And Aiden English WWE Pairing

Rusev said that the entire pairing was supposed to be a joke. Rusev was always booked as a foreign heel monster, but Aiden English was a WWE superstar who would come out and sing and get the crowd riled up. However, once they were together, WWE fans started to see how charismatic Rusev was — and how he had a sense of humor that was rarely seen.

That caused fans to start chanting “Rusev Day” after the two played off that gimmick at the start of their pairing. Suddenly, fans were popping for English for the first time since he arrived on the main roster and they even cheer for Rusev when he battles other fan favorites.

Rusev said in the interview that Aiden English was a “blessing in disguise” for him. He also said that English is very talented, both in the ring and on the microphone. English, the son-in-law of the late Eddie Guerrero, has benefited from the pairing as well, as Rusev said that they were given lemons and made lemonade out of it.

Or as Rusev admitted in the interview, “d**n good lemonade.”