Csonka: 10 Post WWE Matches For Rusev

IT’S RUSEV DAY IN AMERICA AGAIN
Rusev is a great talent, and one that I feel could have been, should have been and under the right circumstances, would have a huge star for WWE. He had a good look, was good in the ring, showed range outside of the ring, and most importantly, he got over organically, but as we all know, WWE often looks on this as a criminal offense. Rusev should have been much more than he was for the company. He eventually got disenfranchised with things and there were rumors that he wanted out. But they always seemed like teases from him to generate some buzz, and even more so when his wife Lana ere-signed with WWE. And then he disappeared from TV, rumors picked up again, the COVID-19 laced shit hit the fan and he was released. I don’t want anyone unemployed, but in my opinion, this is good. Rusev is in good shape, has shown versatility in and out of the ring, is likely hungry to prove himself and is still only 34. So when I think about it, I’m happy to see him free and think he’d be an asset for any company lucky enough to lock him down. In Impact he’s a guy with a name that can go, in ROH he’s a top guy out of the gate, in NJPW he could replace a guy like Archer, and so on. So here’s a list of matches I’d personally love to see Rusev have once things start getting back to normal and everyone starts running shows again, feel free to share your personal picks in the comment section. Have fun, and always, thanks for reading. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

Daisuke Sekimoto: We’re not going to fuck around here, we’re going right to a big lads hoss fight with Daisuke Sekimoto. I love Sekimoto, he’s put together a portfolio of greatness between BJPW, wXw, & AJPW as well as other places he’s worked. He’s one of those guys that always delivers in his matches, he has no chill, and if you want to have Rusev start off with someone really fresh that can go, you can’t go wrong with Sekimoto. BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPIN MEAT – (™ Big E)

Minoru Suzuki: If Rusev survives Sekimoto, lets change things up from hoss fight to just a fight with the original murder dad Minoru Suzuki. I love and hoss fight and what Sekimoto can bring, but a match with Suzuki would be just an other animal entirely. The dynamics he brings to his matches can’t be recreated by anyone else on this planet, and as we saw last year in matches with Okada, Liger, & Moxley, our murder father and savior can still go when he needs to at a top level. This would be unlike any match Rusev has ever had in his life and through it’s uniqueness is where I think this one could thrive.

Bandido: Bandido has been one of ROH’s best pickups in some time, delivering outside of ROH and then when he came in, continuing that trend with an ability to work with speed, power and the versatility to work with anyone from Flip Gordon to Shane Taylor in the company. The man flat out delivers, and I think as an opponent for Rusev, they could create a really fun dynamic and have a great match& fresh match that showcases heir power and speed elements.

Hiroshi Tanahashi: Hiroshi Tanahashi may be 43 and admittedly slowing down, but he’s also still the ace, a legit legend and one of the greatest professional wrestlers I have ever seen that can still go at a high level when need be. I have long thought about Rusev vs. top NJPW stars and the first up has always been the ace. If anyone can really showcase what Rusev has in a compelling match with a great story, it would be Tanahashi.

Jeff Cobb: Jeff Cobb represented Guam at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and made the transition to pro wrestling in 2009. He’s worked various independents, played the Monster Matanza Cueto in Lucha Underground and has been part of the 2017 NJPW World Tag League tournament, working with fellow hoss, Michael Elgin. Cobb is a really fun hoss, mixing in power (utilizing his amateur background) and some insane agility, pulling off standing moonsaults & shooting star presses. His mix of power and agility makes for some tremendously fun outings, and between the indies, ROH, & NJPW, has put on a great catalogue of tremendous matches. He’d be a great introductory opponent for Rusev in ROH or NJPW.

Pac: I love Pac, Pac is not only great, but in my opinion he’s been one of the very best singles performers in AEW so far. He was great pre-WWE, he was great when allowed to be in WWE, and he shine post WWE when he returned to Dragon Gate. Pac seemingly has one setting, there is no low, no medium, there is just fucking great. He’s been an asset to AEW, having some of their best TV matches, delivering on PPV, and looking like the star so many of us knew he could be if given the chance. I’d love to see him going full tilt against a motivated and reenergized Rusev.

Michael Elgin: My history watching Michael Elgin has been an odd one. When I first saw him in ROH, he was a fun powerhouse guy. And then as his ROH run went on, he just wasn’t clicking with me all that much. But things turned around again when he started working with NJPW. He started to grow as a performer, started working with more confidence than ever before and was having some of the best matches of his career. Big Mike is an extremely consistent performer that can work with anyone, and as far as delivering top tier matches, is the best on the Impact roster these days.

Tomohiro Ishii: Everyone has their favorites, and there is always a ton of hype around some guys, but right now my absolute favorite wrestler, who makes me look forward to his matches more than anyone and who always delivers is Tomohiro Ishii. Ishii is one of the very best performers in the ring, and no matter how much he gets praised or how much I keep discussing how under appreciated he is by much of the fan base, and that continues to be the case because 99% of the talk is focused on every other top Japan guy but him, he is constantly overlooked. Ishii is one of if not the most consistent performers of the last 3-4 years, always delivering, working as an iron man with more in ring time (at age 44) than pretty much anyone on the NJPW roster, and always putting on high caliber matches. He can work on any level from opener to main event, he can believably beat any main eventer, and also put over others. Ishii is a great brawler, but also a technician when he needs to be, and in what may be the most overlooked part of his game, his selling is absolutely magnificent. But because he’s not Tanahashi, Okada, Shibata, Omega or Naito (who have all been really great for the last few years) he has been not only overlooked, but in a way he’s almost been disrespected. The man is a fucking artist, always looking great but more importantly making everyone he works with look like a star. PUT THIS SHIT INTO MY VEINS!

Shingo: Even before arriving in NJPW, Shingo was a great performer and top star for Dragon Gate. But he eventfully came to a crossroads in his career as he had done it all in Dragon Gate and made the call to leave. His arrival in NJPW has produced greatness, and for as good as he was in Dragon Gate, he maybe even better right now. Shingo is an elite performer, a true Openweight in that he can work a hoss fight, he can work main event heavyweight style, he can work that quick and crisp Dragon Gate style, and if need be he can morph them all together in one hybrid style. It’s a complete performer, he’s elite, and this is a match I need to see, because I need to know if Rusev can hang with this kind of guy.

Will Ospreay: Back in 2019, Ospreay was the hot up and coming highflier, gaining a fan following and being chased by several companies that wanted to lock him down, Since then, Ospreay has grown as a performer, become more complete overall, put on size, and has transitioned to heavyweight. I have not made my appreciation for Ospreay a secret and strongly feel that in the ring, he was the best wrestler in 2019 and had a hell of a start to 2020 until this bullshit shut everything down. We can argue the very best in the world all day long, but even if you don’t think it’s Ospreay he’s certainly up there and over the past few years has put together an amazing portfolio of top tier matches against a wide variety of opponents and if I am booking Rusev in a collection of potentially great and fresh matches, the list would be incomplete without Ospreay.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 112. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Steve Cook go retro, looking back on the first NWA Clash of the Champions events. Jerome Cusson then joins for a Dark Side of The Ring: David Schultz and The Slap Heard Round the World review. The show is approximately 156-minutes long.

* Intro
* Clash of The Champions I Review: 4:09
* Clash of The Champions II Review: 41:36
* Clash of The Champions IIII Review: 1:13:30
*Dark Side of The Ring: David Schultz and The Slap Heard Round the World Review: 1:38:14

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– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.