Dated gimmick they said ivan drago they said

[PeterSellersSTL]

Meanwhile Lana and Rusev are getting as much heat as anyone on the roster. They, and much credit to Zeb, have revived Swaggers career. Lana and Rusev are only going to get better, I hope they pick up the win at Summer Slam. It's a good base gimmick and I'll be happy to see it evolve.

Hopefully this is enough content for one particular mod not to get his panties in a bunch. DeathBummer or whoever.

 

[Sundar]

Yep, Rusev and Lana are the top heels at the moment. Even Brock and Heyman do not get booed as much as they do, in spite of Heyman repeatedly bringing up the conquering of the streak. I don't think foreigner heel gimmicks will ever be outdated despite the fact that the WWE has become more global, as long as they are booked correctly. Another good example is Muhammad Hassan who was as hot as anyone but his run was unfortunately cut short. Even Khali used to get great reactions back when he just started out and was pushed hard despite his inability to wrestle simply because he was a foreigner.

 

[Da Solo]

I'll take the L here and admit I thought Rusev would be on the fast track to Tensai's nowhere, but he's proved me wrong. He put on 2 hard hitting matches with Big E and really did breathe new life into Swagger. And now I don't think anyone gets more heat besides HHH and Steph, which is incredible since Kane, Orton, Rollins and Miz are all higher on the card and not at their level of heat right now.

I think the X factor here that separates Rusev from the Kozlovs of WWE history is Lana. THAT IS ONE BAAAAAD B*TCH! She makes herself so hateable that it's almost unbelievable considering the vanilla gimmick she's been given. Sure it aso helps that Putin, their god, is not too high on Booker T's fave five either, but she's milking every drop of heat for all it's worth. They're a good package deal, and if it was up to me, they'd never break up.

 

[Aquaman6686]

People said "tired gimmick, Ivan Drago" etc., and continue to say it, because it's still true. There's nothing special about Alexander Rusev. He's yet another mediocre athlete doing the same mediocre gimmick we've seen a hundred times. Jack Swagger is the only person who's been able to get really good matches out of him, because Swagger is a great in-ring talent who can get great matches out of anyone. It's sad that it's taken people so long to notice this. I've been a huge fan of Swagger since he debuted in 2008 and I've always felt he should be a top player. Swagger is the one who should come out on top in this feud and move on to bigger things. A year from now Rusev will be jobbing to Darren Young on Superstars.

 

[MartialHorror]

I'm somewhere in the middle. On one hand, this gimmick is working surprisingly well. He and Lana have gotten strong heel reactions and as the opener said, it's practically saved Swagger's career. I'm really invested in this feud. However, I don't think it will last forever. Once the Russian conflict dies down, I think Rusev's momentum will falter and he will become nothing but your average brute. Personally, I think he will conquer Swagger but ultimately lose to Cena.

Then like most heel monsters, he will start jobbing to guys like the Big Show or rising stars and fans will become indifferent to him...only to re-ignite his career by being packaged as a fun loving, partying comedic character until that gets old. Then he'll return to being a heel and will continue to job until he retires or is fired. I do like Rusev, it's the real life conflict that gives him and Lana relevance, not their abilities.

 

[chicagokmc]

I'll admit I was wrong some time ago about how I thought this gimmick would go. The difference between Rusev/Lana and anti-American gimmicks of the past is that they are naming names and making personal. In the past it was always generic. "Fill in the blank country #1, US sucks". Now they are promoting, slamming Obama, Bush specifically. They're also keeping it current, referencing Snowden and the flag covering incident in New York. I thought those kind of things were going to be too close to home but I guess we're in a different, "let's go there" era now so it doesn't seem like they are going too far.

The problem still is the problem you always have with this...how many feuds can this gimmick give you and who's next? I do agree that he will ultimately win out over Swagger. But this overly anti American character sort of limits who he can logically face. Wrestlers like Sheamus, who in theory could be a great feud, are not a good match because Russia vs Ireland is not something fans here would care about. I dont think it was a coincidence we saw Mark Henry night. Assuming he stays healthy, and thats an extremely big if with him now, I think they are lining him up to go against Rusev next given his size and American Olympian background. But as we have seen in recent years age has not done Henry well and he is constantly hurt. Outside of Henry, Big Show and probably Cena at some point, will WWE really be able to get much more out of such a massive anti American gimmick?

 

[shafe_41]

Yeah? And what's Rusev going to do when his feud with Swagger is over? Rusev isn't going to have a flag match with everybody on the roster to keep gaining heat. The "overly patriotic for a country that isn't America" gimmick wears thin quick. It's a great way to gain quick heat and get large amounts of it.
You still have the same problem. A mouthpiece to a guy that doesn't deliver promos (yet), is only going to last so long. Unless they do something original with Rusev that's never been done before to the anti-American gimmick, he won't progress as a character whatsoever. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Unless they do something original with Rusev that's never been done before to the anti-American gimmick, he won't progress as a character whatsoever.

Very true. When they're finished feuding with Swagger and Zeb, the fans will quickly lose interest in Rusev and Lana if they simply transfer the whole nationalistic gimmick to Rusev's next program.

Plainly, WWE likes Rusev....and I admit to finding him interesting; I think he moves pretty well for a big guy and has a style of his own.

Surely, his future development revolves around Lana; it's the relationship between the two of them that will carry through to their next program. I'm not talking about romance between them; she's more like a dog trainer than a lover. But somehow, she's going to become more involved in his act than simply barking orders from ringside. She's a very compelling figure and there's much Creative can do with her.

To put it another way; if management ever breaks up Rusev and Lana, the big guy is more likely to be future endeavored than the evil gal, but I doubt anyone's thinking of splitting them any time in the near future.

 

[A11oftheLights]

I'm gonna say this is premature. The gimmick has its perfect opponent in a face Jack Swagger. Once he moved on from this we'll see how he goes.


As for his actual feud with Swagger,
I'm indifferent on the result. Swagger winning could make a great moment with the crowd and then we'll see how well Rusev can handle a loss. On the other hand, with potential rumours of Kurt Angle back to the WWE, Rusev wins and continues to win maybe even win the US title and changes it. Kurt Angle returns and challenges Rusev for the strap. The only questions are; can angle pass the medical, does Angle come straight back in to feud with rusev or have a minor feud where he picks up the victories

 

[QuadrupleH]

When I first saw Rusev, I chuckled and didn't take him seriously - and I still don't. Without Lana, I think he is mostly dead in the water. That shaking fist thing he does at the end of his matches (like he is shooting a gatlin gun maybe?) makes him look like a giant baby to me - I guess that is neither here or there.

I have to admit the pair have grown on me though and much to my surprise, the crowd has jumped onto the old "USA USA USA" chanting of old. Does the gimmick have legs beyond his feud with Swagger? I think if they feed him patriotic legends it will get him a few more months. Beyond that...

I think the only other place to go with Rusev is to change him from Anti-American to Global Dominator. Something along the lines of "he has defeated America's best hope, now he is going to take over the world." From there it makes sense for him to battle the likes of Shaemus and other foreigners, as he "invades" the rest of the roster. Meanwhile, in the background, Swagger or some other "American Hero" trains and prepares for round two, culminating in an eventual victory.

But again, I don't see it lasting beyond that. When you have such specific gimmicks, I think it is hard to make any sort of real superstar out of them - with the exception of badass supernatural characters. Fandango, Rose, Rusev - so long as they are gimmicks and not real people, they'll never last. It's only when a wrestler really incorporates aspects of a character into themselves (and not the other way around) that they make it. Cena, Stone Cold, The Rock, Daniel Bryan, Punk - they have a little gimmick, but mostly they are just themselves - and that, to me, is the difference between a "superstar" like Rusev and a Legend like Jericho.

That and just the natural IT factor of course...

 

[Navi]

Meanwhile Lana and Rusev are getting as much heat as anyone on the roster. They, and much credit to Zeb, have revived Swaggers career. Lana and Rusev are only going to get better, I hope they pick up the win at Summer Slam. It's a good base gimmick and I'll be happy to see it evolve.

Hopefully this is enough content for one particular mod not to get his panties in a bunch. DeathBummer or whoever.

LMAO at "DeathBummer". I think you mean Jack Hammer.

On topic. Sorry but hate Rusev with a passion, and it's not because of the Russia VS America crap. I just think he's boring as fuck in the ring, and out of the two of them Lana generates more heat than he does.

Let me put it this way. Lana is over, Putin is over, Rusev is not over. If they split them up, he is in trouble. And after this feud with Swagger really don't know where they are going with this gimmick. Seems to me like they've painted themselves into the corner.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Once this thing w/ Swagger ends, they could always have him drop the ethnic vibe and be the authority's muscle.

Or, as is usually the case w/ one dimensional monsters, they can do a 180 and turn him into comedy character, they already have him fitted for clown shoes I'm sure.

 

[sca2626l]

I think any gimmick can be pulled off with the right person. Rusev and Lana are proving that.

Swagger to me is nothing but a piss break. He doesn't pull the American hero off in my book and he;ll most likely be fed to Rusev at SS.

 

[Mudlup50]

I like the idea 2 comments above me posted by JoeFromTomsRiver! I heard Kane's contract expired before next Raw...so he's done. The authority officially has no muscle. While they might bring in a Big Show or Mark Henry to fill that spot, why not bring in Rusev and Lana. Sort of a Mercenary for Hire thing if he's so dominant, just a thought

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The OP's made a good point. I didn't think the gimmick would go far because, let's be honest, it is something that's pretty dated and the whole concept of the big, bad Russian monster is something that seemed more viable when Russia was a military an economic powerhouse. But, the gimmick is getting a strong reaction, FAR more so than I think most of us were expecting.

A good point has been raised on the opposite side of the argument, however, in that this could also wind up painting Rusev & Lana into a corner. Where Rusev is right now is perfectly fine for this angle as far as character development goes, but WWE will eventually have to making his character more progressive somewhere down the line. However, that doesn't mean that he has to progress very far, just enough so that he isn't as one dimensional as he currently is. For instance, if he's able to win a title between now and the end of the year and if he's booked to be a very strong champion all while keeping the base of his character rooted in the traditions of monster "Russian" heels of the past, it may be all that's ultimately needed for him as a heel.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I think any gimmick can be pulled off with the right person. Rusev and Lana are proving that.

Swagger to me is nothing but a piss break. He doesn't pull the American hero off in my book and he;ll most likely be fed to Rusev at SS.

It's the polar opposite for me. Of all the steretypical foreign heels that have come and gone through the years, Rusev is among my least favorites. He's just got nothing. He's an average big man with a typical big guy moveset, and a finisher that's been done better by a hundred other guys.

I've been a Jack Swagger fan since he first debuted on ECW, and predicted he'd be a World Champion in 6 months. It took him what, 3? Swagger is one of the most underrated stars on the roster. He's got size, speed, power, incredible technical skills, and can get a good match out of almost anybody. He's the only guy who's been able to make Rusev look good. His only weakness was his mic skills, and having a manager negates that weakness. Swagger is the one who should go over in this feud and move on to bigger and better things.

 

[ThePrawnCurry]

this is a feud carried by Zeb and Lana at the moment

i hope they give this a lenghthy run and allow the wrestlers a couple of months to get the audience invested too

wrestling is about heroes taking awful evil too

 

[A11oftheLights]

this is a feud carried by Zeb and Lana at the moment

i hope they give this a lenghthy run and allow the wrestlers a couple of months to get the audience invested too

wrestling is about heroes taking awful evil too

That doesnt really matter, the two have been carrying Rusev and Swagger for ages a while now.

For those saying Rusev has nowhere to go after Swagger, i still believe there is 3 feuds he can have.
1)Mark Henry who is was booked as an american olympian on the past raw.
2)Sheamus or whoever is the US champion at the time, you can easily have Sheamus say he has lived in the US for however long and while he may not be fully american he still loves it and everything it stands for blah blah.
3)Kurt Angle, i've already explained this one

And even if they dont wanna do any of them, as others have mentioned Rusev can be the enforcer for the Authority. Have Lana continually get cut off by people so she goes to HHH or stephanie and says she'll have rusev crush whoever they want and in return she cant be interupted when giving a speech