Rusev has marched through the ranks of both NXT and WWE with an impressive victory at SummerSlam over Jack Swagger. In defeating Swagger, he also followed the directive of his valet Lana and “crushed” Mr. We The People himself, Zeb Colter.
It was a stunning display of Russian dominance over the Americans and a humiliation on our own soil that can’t be equaled.
Unless…
Mark it down, wrestling fans. The next move WWE Creative will make with Alexander Rusev and Lana is to put the WWE U.S. Championship around the Bulgarian Brute’s waist.
Rusev and Lana have undeniable heat with the WWE audience, and it’s Old School heat. The kind where they’re actually hated whenever they’re in the ring.
In a world of fans half-cheering heels — see the situation with Brock Lesnar — this is refreshing.
Essentially, Rusev and Lana are the monster heels that the promotion wants instead of the one they’re getting with the current World Heavyweight Champion.
But since Vince McMahon and company are intent on pushing Lesnar and taking the strap from him at WrestleMania 31, there aren’t many opportunities for Rusev at the top of the card.
That’s why he needs to be a mid-card destroyer, and the only way to do that at this point while upping the ante, is to give him the belt that bears the name of our country.
How We Would Do It
Have Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus square off in a unification bout for the Intercontinental and U.S. titles. Give the nod to Ziggler, and when he’s celebrating, have Rusev screw it up for him with an epic beat-down.
Then, play the two off one another for a few weeks and set up a meeting at one of the upcoming pay-per-views before year’s end. From there, have Rusev win the title from Ziggler, after which he embarks on a campaign of disrespect toward the very belt he owns until WrestleMania 31.
He could spit on it, trash it, tie a string around his waist that drags the ground, and attach the belt to it so that when he walks to the ring, he drags it instead of wearing it proudly.
WWE could and should have a lot of fun with this.
While we often complain about how WWE is too predictable, this is one nod we can see coming that would be really fun to watch.
But what do you think, readers? Is Rusev ready for the U.S. title?