Rusev on Fan Criticism of the Lana and Bobby Lashley Wedding, the Storyline’s Evolution and Taking Time With It

– Rusev appeared on the Jerry Lawler Show and discussed the much-discussed wedding angle from Monday’s episode of Raw. The storyline has been derided by many fans on social media and otherwise, while still doing big numbers on YouTube and a big rating on Raw.

You can check out highlights from the discussion below:

On where the storyline goes from here: “Ah, I can only imagine where can we go from here. But I can only speak from the past and it’s such a thrill ride.”

On fan criticism of the wedding: “You’re right [Lawler]. People hate it, people love it. But the power of social media, people like — now it’s like, ‘I want to be a cool guy and cheer against WWE.’ You can put the greatest segment in the history [of WWE on], but they’ll be the 3% of people that are gonna go ahead and bash it. And hey, you have your right. Go ahead and express it. I’m not gonna judge you for it. There’s some people that want to see three hours of power bombs. And hey, kudos to you. I mean, if that’s what you’re into, go ahead and find what’s for you. But we are a broad company, we are entertainment. It’s not about power bombs, it’s not about arm drags. It’s about entertaining millions and millions of people week in and week out, right? That’s not crazy to say.”

On the YouTube videos doing huge numbers and Raw doing a big rating: “Yeah, it’s because it proves that this works, right? It started such a long time ago. And it started from something completely — with Maria Kanellis. It started there. And the way everything evolved and developed. But this is putting time and thought and everything into it. It’s just ‘Hey, let’s do it now, let’s finish it tomorrow.’ No. It takes time, people. Just sit back, relax and enjoy it.”

On his challenge to WWE fans: “I want to issue a challenge to the WWE universe. And everybody out there, just in general. When you want to put something negative, go ahead. Do it. But follow up with 10 positives. It doesn’t have to be about this. But something good, so we all utilize social media not in a negative way, not just to express frustration, but also positive vibes next to that. Because why don’t everybody want to be more positive. We should all be more positive, it’s so much more fun then being this sour.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Jerry Lawler Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.