Rusev Reveals the Biggest Thing He Learned From John Cena, Recalls Manifesting His Tank Entrance at WrestleMania 31

During a recent interview with Insight with Chris Van Vliet, WWE Superstar Rusev reflected on his epic feud with John Cena, culminating in their WWE United States Title match at WrestleMania 31. Rusev memorably made his entrance in a tank at the event.

Rusev also shared about the biggest thing he learned from working with Cena. Below are some highlights from Insight:

On the Idea Behind His Tank Entrance at WrestleMania 31

“Manifestation, brother. Manifestation, nothing else. I couldn’t even believe that, because CJ sometimes reminded me, No, we literally took a paper and we just kind of, Oh, what if it’s this, what if it’s this, what if it’s this? We’re not gonna go to [Vince McMahon], it’s my first few months. I’m not gonna go, ‘Vince, what about this?’ But then all of a sudden, a few days before the show, they call us in the stadium, oh, there’s a tank. Whoa, there’s the guns. Whoa, there’s a Russian soldier. It was just something, I couldn’t ask for or dream for anything more. And it was all because, like I said, just we thinking about it, manifesting it, and then somehow it’s getting to Vince’s head for him to put it up there.”

Rusev on the Biggest Thing He Learned From John Cena

“Just timing, take my time. There’s no such thing as a TV match and a live event match, like there’s no such thing as a bad crowd. If they’re not reacting, it’s because you’re not giving them what they want to see. Him listening, ‘Okay, is it a high pitch? Is it low-pitched? Who’s out there tonight? What’s the vibe?’ He’s always there, watching and learning the crowd as much as everything else. Not everything has to be like [fast paced] it’s got to make sense, and it’s got to take your time and listen to the crowd. I think that’s the most important thing. Just listen to the crowd. They’ll tell you what to do.”

On Why He Was Put in the League of Nations With Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, and Wade Barrett

“I think they needed somebody for Roman, to be honest. I think that’s how they came up with it. It was not like, oh, we have this great idea for these four guys. I think they needed somebody for Roman to be a babyface, and that’s why they put us together, which was fun. We got a WrestleMania match. I got to eat the stunner from Steve Austin, which was another dream come true.”

Rusev successfully defended his WWE US Title against John Cena at WWE Fastlane 2015 in February of that year. However, Cena won the title in the rematch at WrestleMania 31.