wrestling / Columns

Rusev And Lana: Why The WWE Needs To Push The Reset Button

October 4, 2015 | Posted by Greg De Marco

Headed into 2015, Rusev and Lana were positioned as the WWE’s next great heel duo. By the time WrestleMania 31 ended, they were veering towards disaster. 411Mania’s Greg DeMarco says it’s time for the WWE to change that…

When he made his debut, (Alexander) Rusev appeared ready to be the WWE’s next great monster. He had everything needed to be a successful one: size, heritage, workrate, charisma, and most importantly…Lana.

The WWE expertly built Rusev, putting him over jobber after jobber, followed by lower carder after lower carder. When it came time for a feud, the Bulgarian “Hero Of The Russian Federation” was put against “The All American American” Jack Swagger, the perfect yin to Rusev and Lana’s yang.

Of course, Rusev won the feud. He went on to beat fellow monsters Mark Henry and The Big Show in successive pay-per-views. His first championship win would come in November, when he beat Sheamus in a special “after Raw” match that aired on the WWE Network.

But that didn’t come until after he and Lana were made to look foolish at the hands of The Rock, something that should have been a sign of things to come.

As United States Champion, Rusev once again feuded with Jack Swagger, once again defeating his American foe.

A Royal Rumble runner-up spot seemed to be a positive sign, which was followed up by a feud with a man who could truly put him over: John Cena.

I was hopeful leading into Rusev’s feud with Cena…

…naively hopeful.

Rusev faced John Cena at WWE FastLane this past February, where he did in fact earn a victory over the “face that runs the place.” That victory wasn’t clean, as Rusev needed a low-blow to put Cena in position for The Accolade. And Cena didn’t tap out, either. In true “Never Give Up” fashion, John Cena passed out.

Why? Because towels, that’s why.

What followed was the complete neutering of Rusev and the total emasculation of Lana.

First, Rusev lost the United States Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 31, and did so after accidentally knocking Lana off of the apron. Unlike many Cena WrestleMania opponents, Rusev didn’t kick out of Cena’s finisher, and didn’t require a Super-AA to lose. Rusev blamed Lana after the match (she was the reason he was in this predicament after all), and they left separately.

Rusev would get his rematch with Cena at Extreme Rules—a Russian Chain match. Lana would prove distracting again, and Rusev would lose. They weren’t done yet, as Rusev then lost to John Cena in an “I Quit” match at Payback.

Yes, Rusev, the Bulgarian Brute, quit. The thing John Cena wouldn’t do at FastLane. Don’t blame Lana’s insertion into the finish either, it was later translated for us to reveal that Rusev did in fact quit. The ref just didn’t understand.

Unrelated, but neither did I.

On the Raw after Payback, Rusev and Lana split. The following week, Rusev was Bulgarian again. And begging—yes, BEGGING—for Lana to come back to him.

Lana, the powerful female lead in all of this, became smitten with Dolph Ziggler.

Outside of a “take the fish” promo, Lana and Rusev are far worse off than they were before FastLane.

Lana is now out, and recovering from an injury. Rusev seems headed towards a feud with Sheamus once he’s done with Dolph Ziggler, which isn’t likely to end well for him. And the last we (storyline) heard from Lana, she was begging for fans to cheer for her on social media.

Think about that… LANA WAS BEGGING—YES, BEGGING—FANS TO CHEER FOR HER! As 2014 was coming to a close Lana was the hottest act in the company, and now she’s begging for attention! Rusev was a strong and dominant heel, and now he’s a shell of his former self.

This is NOT okay!

But Lana’s injury opens up an opportunity. Have Dolph Ziggler state in a few backstage promos that he suddenly isn’t hearing from her. She isn’t returning his messages and they don’t Facetime anymore. He’ll probably just steal Summer Rae from Rusev in response, because you know Nikki Bella isn’t leaving John Cena anytime soon.

Rusev can disappear for a month with little consequence. From there the next step is simple:

Lana shows up when Ziggler is getting hot and heavy (in PG form, of course) with Summer Rae. Ziggler looks surprised, but that turns to fear when Rusev shows up. A few well-placed kicks later and Lana is screaming “Rusev CRUSH!” with the Bulgarian powerlifter doing just that.

The WWE presses the reset button on their original Nintendo, Rusev crushes Ziggler, reunites with Lana, and all is right the world. Bring back the Russian flag, bring back the “Hero Of The Russian Federation” star, bring back the Vladimir Putin references and bring back my Rusev monster, dammit!

Rusev is the monster we need, and Lana is the vixen we deserve. C’mon Vince, give me this one.

Greg DeMarco is a wrestling fan of over 30 years and has worked on the independent circuit as a promoter, announcer, character and booker. Greg is a weekly contributor at 411Mania.com, applying his opinionated style to the world of pro wrestling as often as possible.

He began writing for 411Mania in October 2010 and has been pissing readers off ever since!

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article topics :

Lana, Miro, WWE, Greg De Marco