Alexander Rusev: United States Champion

[nbieclkl91]

Hear me out. This guy made his official debut the night after Wrestlemania 30 and since then, he's been unstoppable. The only thing this guy is missing is a championship. Insert, Dean Ambrose.

Now, the WWE can make this part of the Shield vs Evolution feud. Have Triple H come out on RAW the night after Extreme Rules and say that because he can, he's making a match between Dean Ambrose and Alexander Rusev for the US title. That night, they have their match and Rusev wins the title. They can have a rematch with Ambrose ultimately losing again.

Moving on. Having Rusev as the champion opens new doors for the mid-card division and the title itself. Have him come out week after week and defend it against all challengers. This will make the title feel more important by it actually being defended on a regular basis and it also adds a certain prestige by having so many superstars trying to take it off Rusev. Have him billed as 'The Most Dominate US Champion in WWE History' by Lana.

Just an idea but let me know what you guys think.

 

[Softcore Holly]

While just about anyone would be a upgrade over Ambrose for US champ, I'm weary on putting a title over people that's really new. Most of the time it just doesn't work out well for various reasons.

Your idea is very interesting though. A monster heel that's willing to defend his title all the time is pretty rare and does sound like fun to watch. I wouldn't defend it every week though since you'll run out of decent faces really quick. If you're going to do it every week they would probably have to resort to the "Kurt Angle Gold medal challenge" route and have Rusev beat up local jobbers every week, which would suck. Otherwise sounds like a great idea that can only do wonders for the US title

 

[GOOZEKING]

No it might sound good on paper but we all know that creative still won't do anything with him with or without the title and he will be forgotten. I said before and I will say again to add prestige to mid card title is by giving it to a sheamus or other former main event talent or by doing a tournament to add more attention

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'd have to say no for a few reasons.

For starters, it's way too soon for Rusev to win a championship. Give him a little more time before you throw a title on him. He needs to build a connection with the crowd, because there's a good chance the fans won't care about Rusev as US Champion.

Also, I don't like the idea of another push for the anti-American heel as a champion. It's a tired and stale formula that's been done to death over the years, and there's no way around it. Sure, Rusev will get some cheap heat, and a few "USA!!!" chants, but that's about it.

More recently, I remember WWE did the same thing with Cesaro as US Champion. He played the snobbish and superior foreigner, who's better than all the fat and lazy Americans. Cesaro's heat was lukewarm at best, and the same thing will happen to Rusev. And with the way things are going now, I'm not sold on Lana carrying the load on the mic. She has annoying voice (like nails to a chalkboard), but that's about it.

 

[kadroan]

I'd have to say no for a few reasons.

For starters, it's way too soon for Rusev to win a championship. Give him a little more time before you throw a title on him. He needs to build a connection with the crowd, because there's a good chance the fans won't care about Rusev as US Champion.

Also, I don't like the idea of another push for the anti-American heel as a champion. It's a tired and stale formula that's been done to death over the years, and there's no way around it. Sure, Rusev will get some cheap heat, and a few "USA!!!" chants, but that's about it.

More recently, I remember WWE did the same thing with Cesaro as US Champion. He played the snobbish and superior foreigner, who's better than all the fat and lazy Americans. Cesaro's heat was lukewarm at best, and the same thing will happen to Rusev. And with the way things are going now, I'm not sold on Lana carrying the load on the mic. She has annoying voice (like nails to a chalkboard), but that's about it.

Exactly! I was just about to mention Cesaro. I'd like to see him feud with someone like Mark Henry and Big Show just to give him some credibility. Him beating up on R Truth, Xaxier Woods etc. only going to take longer for him to get some credibility

 

[Hillali2]

I think the shapes right. Its been done so many times before. Lance storm pulled it off best in wcw with the us championship.

Rusev is growing on me though. But they cant rush things with him. (See Ryback)

 

[Ziirox]

Why not put the title on Rusev? What is Ambrose doing other than wearing it for decoration? I'd suggest holding off on switching the titles out until after Extreme Rules though. When The Shield go over Evolution (which will happen), Triple H will be looking for blood. You better bet all those guys will be booked in ridiculous matches and made to suffer. Ambrose losing his title is almost inevitable to happen within the next two months. Alexander Rusev can be booked as a fearless, monster heel, fighting champion. Why not bill a Eastern European as the Champion of the United States? It's great heat for him! Have him come out with an altered United States belt with something Bulgarian on it, maybe have him change it to the Bulgarian Championship, or possibly even have him hold an American Invitational every week with Rusev challenging various American wrestlers to show he is better. There are endless possibilities here. I love a good foreign gimmick.

 

[Dragon Chief]

I think he should win it sooner rather than later. The US title does not have that much prestige anymore anyways, so him winning it too soon as some stated is not really problem. The way Rusev is being pushed right now has been done so many times in the past and hasn't worked all that well (someone correct me if I'm wrong). The last wrestler that succeeded with this type of push was Umaga and that was short-lived. I rather see Rusev get involved in a good mid-card feud with someone that could pose a threat to him.

 

[nbieclkl91]

While just about anyone would be a upgrade over Ambrose for US champ, I'm weary on putting a title over people that's really new. Most of the time it just doesn't work out well for various reasons.

Your idea is very interesting though. A monster heel that's willing to defend his title all the time is pretty rare and does sound like fun to watch. I wouldn't defend it every week though since you'll run out of decent faces really quick. If you're going to do it every week they would probably have to resort to the "Kurt Angle Gold medal challenge" route and have Rusev beat up local jobbers every week, which would suck. Otherwise sounds like a great idea that can only do wonders for the US title

I like your connection to the "Kurt Angle Gold Medal Challenge". It would be good if he defended the title against local jobbers or the lower card guys. He doesn't even have to defend it every week I suppose. Maybe have him in a feud with Dolph Ziggler for example and during the build up to the PPV, he can just squash other wrestlers. I think him with a title will work for one reason...LANA. She will do all the talking and really make Rusev look like a solid champion.

 

[Blade]

That is actually a pretty good idea.

It's not that Ambrose couldn't be a good US Champion. He could've been, had WWE not been so lazy. They threw a belt at him to make the Shield look a little bit more dominant, then quickly forgot about it. Ambrose could've been a very good US champion, but alas, WWE dropped the ball.

As for Rusev, he's going to get the monster heel treatment. So, instead of blowing their load too early, like they did with Ryback, they should give him the US title half-way early in his inevitable winning streak. Rusev ain't gonna be tagging with anyone any time soon. So it'll be good for the title.

It pretty much writes itself. Once the Shield beats Evolution, Triple H will want to punish the Shield. Ambrose vs. Rusev is booked on Raw, with Reigns and Rollins banned from ringside. Ambrose puts up a good fight, but ultimately loses. Ambrose gets some babyface sympathy, Rusev gets some heel heat, s'all good.

 

[Hillali2]

What is Ambrose doing other than wearing it for decoration?

Ambrose is about to become the longest reigning wwe us champion. That might not mean something now but will mean something when somebody beats him. Whether its as the thread suggest a Rusev type character or whether hes set up to lose it as part of the evolution story, it will only make that story better because of the length of time he has had the belt.

Ambrose has not had much of an opportunity to have a singles career as part of the shield. But when the shield is done every US title defence will mean something.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Rusev's not ready for a title run. Thus far, it looks like WWE is following the age old formula typically associated with a powerhouse, monster heel in which he proceeds to win squash match after squash match without really giving fans an idea of what he's really able to do. If they drag it out for 6+ months like they did with Ryback, or if that's what their ultimate plan is, then I'm probably gonna lose interest really fast and I doubt I'll be the only one.

I'm also concerned that WWE is going back to the extremely tired gimmick of Rusev as this arrogant foreigner that considers himself superior to Americans. Or, at least, that's the impression I get from Lana's pre-match promos. If so, then Rusev may well be doomed to mediocrity from the get go because it's just tired and outdated. The Cold War is over and has been over since the very early 1990s, so people don't just get worked up by "foreign invader" gimmicks the way they did 25-30 years ago. On top of all that, the new religion for the world at large is Political Correctness that's sometimes taken to a fanatically absurd degree. Any portrayal of Rusev resembling a stereotypical Communist era Slav could easily result in someone being offended, taking to Twitter or Facebook and blow it out of proportion to an absurd degree. It could be some political junkie or conspiracy theorist that sees hidden messages of prejudice or bias in everything they see, or some political pundit with nothing better to focus on, or a "journalist" like Nancy Grace so she can raise another stink, etc.

 

[Hillali2]

I'm also concerned that WWE is going back to the extremely tired gimmick of Rusev as this arrogant foreigner that considers himself superior to Americans. Or, at least, that's the impression I get from Lana's pre-match promos. If so, then Rusev may well be doomed to mediocrity from the get go because it's just tired and outdated.

I know exactly what you mean, this is the one thing that puts me off Rusev so far. He has so much potential, but if its messed up he will go the way of Koslov.

 

[Pedigree1]

Alexander Rusev,does not belong anywhere near a title. Not at least for another year or so,its way too early to even tell if the character is going to be a success.. Not too long ago on this thread,he was being compared to Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.

The last thing the WWE needs at this point is an anti-american holding the US title. Dean is a great champion,not his fault the way the situation he is in.. If anything Batista probably will beat Ambrose for the US title in the near future.. Alexander Rusev,is not even a month into his character way too soon to put any kind of title on him

 

[Headman]

Any wrestler who makes me chuckle at their appearance while trying to be dead serious shouldn't be winning any titles. Mr bare foot tubby man hasn't shown me anything to overlook the fact that he looks like the manager of my local burger king if he took his shirt and shoes off.

 

[pipebomber]

Hear me out. This guy made his official debut the night after Wrestlemania 30 and since then, he's been unstoppable. The only thing this guy is missing is a championship. Insert, Dean Ambrose.

yea... in the entire 2 weeks of programing Rusev has been unstoppable. Seriously... who has he faced? 3 people. Zack Ryder, Xavier Woods, and R-Truth... I mean I'm impressed with him and think he has potential, but lets not jump the gun. I mean seriously... it's only been 2 weeks. He beat 3 low card guys in squash matches. not exactly unstoppable.

This is why people don't take the IWC seriously. he should have a smaller fued or two to get people behind him and caring about him before putting him in any title picture. It doesn't do anything for the championship, and it just exposes his weakness before people care about him and his character enough to over look them. We don't need him to be another Ryback and get over exposed before he is ready.

 

[Sundar]

The US title should be unified with the IC title. If the WCW world title has now been merged with the WWE title there is no reason why the WCW midcard title should not be merged with WWE's midcard title. The fact that the title has rarely been defended over the months proves that it is redundant. The same was true for the IC title when Axel held it. At that point the US title actually felt more important than the IC title.

It's not like Ambrose is a bad champion. He has been booked poorly for a while and has been made to look the weakest member of the Shield. Most of the time the Shield loses, it's Ambrose who gets pinned and CM Punk just buried him on Raw a few months ago when he said he has beaten him a dozen times and that he is the weak link.

 

[Reflection]

I'm afraid, I don't think it will open any door for... *scrolls up* yeah, mid carders or the title itself, or bring any credibility or prestige to it or anything else significantly, for that matter.
We have had many big wrestlers on a winning streak or absolute dominant role in the past, and most of the time it doesn't end well. Let us draw our comparisons with the other mid-card champion- Big E. He is also a big muscled guy, hyped as very strong, beats his opponents by power etc... but has the reign done anything remarkable for the IC title? No.
Also, unlike Rusev, Big E was actually hot when he won the title. Rusev is already boring, and no one cares enough to hate him just because he has come from Soviet to conquer America, because everyone knows he will get his ass handed to him with those funny-looking moves and sumo/muay thai mash-up style as soon as he faces a legit main-eventer. R.I.P. dreams of conquering America.
Moreover, the resident mid carders like Kofi, Dolph, Miz, Truth, Woods etc. have nothing to gain from challenging him for the title and getting dominated and laid out. Overall, Rusev is a failure, and giving him the title will result in a failure and forgettable (is that even a word?) reign.
I'm going to check out if Lana has any topless photos on the net.

 

[MCMG]

It could definitely work. The title simply isn't being defended and this makes sense. Triple H (the boss) is feuding with The Shield. Maybe Ambrose has a match a fairly long match before HHH sends out Rusev for a title match. Ambrose doesn't look weak and Rusev gets the belt.

I like Rusev. He is good in the ring and has a lot of potential. There are plenty of mid-carders for him to run through: Ryder, Sin Cara, Kofi, RVD, Ziggler, Rey, Henry, Big Show. Give him these guys to help build his credibility before he is worthy of feuding with the top guys.

A US title run (where he actually defends the belt) makes him relevant. It can also be entertaining because there is a long list of potential opponents of varying styles that can make Rusev look like a top heel.

 

[jaredsmith83]

Boris and Natasha, more like Boring and Natasha. I don't really like Rusev myself. I think the US Title will be the route to go with the new NXT stars, without a doubt, but I'm just not so sure that Rusev will be the route to go. As several have mentioned already, the cheap heat of a foreigner with the US title is old news. But...I'm an Adam Rose guy when it comes to the NXT call-ups and I think he would be entertaining with the belt and his party gimmick.

 

[Angels]

So many people don't get it, the US championship as long as it's booked the way it is will never be important because it's never defended and matches are never created in build up to aim for the title. Now fortunately the US champion is part of the shield, arguably one of top 3 hottest things in the WWE. Big E is in a much worse position. He's been reduced to a jobber, hasn't won a single pin fall match on WWE raw or smackdown since february, and only recently have they even attempted this tournament for the WWE championship. If Alex gets the belt, the same thing will happen, people will receive him as a boring champion when the true problem lies in the fact that wwe does absolutely nothing with those belts and/or champions (the problem is much more highlighted than Big E than Ambrose though, as Ambrose has the shield to increase his prestige.)