WWE News: Rusev Facing Backlash From WWE Creative?
With Rusev’s real-life engagement to Lana made public, the “Bulgarian Brute” is reportedly facing backlash from WWE creative that could start tomorrow night on Monday Night RAW, according to F4WOnline (via WrestlingNewsPost).
Last week, TMZ broke the news that the on-screen rivals but real-life couple, Rusev and Lana, were engaged. Once the news broke, WWE went into panic mode. Trying to salvage what they could of the on-screen storyline between Rusev, Lana, Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae, WWE ultimately acknowledged the engagement and went with it.
It was also reported by Bryan Alvarez during Wrestling Observer Live that WWE was not aware of the engagement prior to TMZ‘s report. That gave WWE little time to find a solution. One of the first things that happened was Lana, who is currently nursing a wrist injury, gave an in-character interview with WWE.com.
The #RavishingRussian @LanaWWE confirms her engagement with @RusevBUL http://t.co/70xivGMzmD pic.twitter.com/37M6rNmZuN
— WWE (@WWEIndia) October 13, 2015
The “Ravishing Russian” discussed Rusev’s relationship with Lana, claiming that he got together with Rae out of jealousy.
“It’s very obvious Rusev proposed to me. If you watched Rusev and Summer, Rusev has always loved me. He was just so devastated about me picking Dolph that he went with Summer to make me jealous. But at the end of the day, we know we’re good for each other.”
After discussing how both she and Rusev come from the same background, and have endured a lot of the same things, the topic switched to her at-the-time on-screen boyfriend, Dolph Ziggler.
WATCH: Dolph Ziggler’s reaction to Rusev and Lana being engaged http://t.co/rLl48Vx0j5 pic.twitter.com/AEXpydi4bW — Wrestling News (@TodaysWWENews) October 12, 2015
While Lana had kind words for Ziggler and their time together, she ultimately decided that she and Rusev were better off together than apart.
“Ziggler is very funny and he’s charming, but he is not The Super Athlete. With me, Rusev was the undefeated Super Athlete. He listened to what I said, he was very focused. We made each other better. He challenged me and I challenged him. Summer has made him so soft that he hasn’t won. You tell me, who is the better pick?”
It was later revealed that the chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon was not too thrilled that Rusev and Lana’s real-life engagement became public knowledge, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via 411 Mania). Their report contradicted the news that WWE had no prior knowledge of the engagement before TMZ’s story broke. But, that was not the reason for McMahon’s displeasure.
The report mentions that McMahon’s reason for being unhappy was “maintaining character and storyline in public.” With the news becoming public knowledge, WWE quickly responded by making the switch on-screen. However, one problem was that Ziggler was seemingly the odd man out with the engagement being revealed.
This past week, Ziggler wrestled John Cena for the United States championship in a losing effort. However, Cena is taking time off after Hell in a Cell and Ziggler appears to be a prime candidate to hold the gold in Cena’s absence.
Now, Rusev may end up in another precarious position as a character on WWE television. After losing his United States championship to John Cena at Wrestlemania 31, Rusev’s descended down the card and seemingly lost a lot of his momentum. At one point, Rusev had just lost his gold, his woman, and his spot as one of WWE’s top villains.
In fact, Rusev’s first major storyline after his feud with Cena was this love square between himself, Ziggler, Lana and Summer Rae. But, with this storyline’s unceremonious conclusion, Rusev could once again find himself in hot water with the WWE. Based of F4WOnline‘s report, tomorrow’s night edition of RAW could be a harbinger of [bad] things to come.
[Image by JP Yim/Getty Images]
