Does Lana have any real future in the WWE?

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

Rusev will not be the undefeated conqueror forever. After he loses a match and his unbeatable aura chances are he will turn face. I can't see Lana's character working as a face Russian supremacist. So what can she do to stay relevant? All of a sudden start talking in an American accent?

WWE seems to have written her into a sort of hole with no way of getting out if this character starts to fail.

If Rusev changed face or left or got injured or something, would that spell the end for Lana?

 

[Mustang Sally]

Depends how the company views her. If they see her as "just another diva" who happens to have a defined role at the moment, they might try using her as another character.....or she could be dropped if they believe she's incapable of any other useful function.

Of course, there's always the chance they'll turn her into a wrestler. From what we've read, she's athletic enough to do it. Despite the way she dresses and acts, she might be able to make it in the ring. Of course, that might be her worst possible fate, as only one or two divas are given sustained in-ring roles, while others serve as "opponents" for the favored few and the rest cool their heels in the locker room.

Ironic, isn't it? Often, the worst fate for a diva is to become a wrestler. Sooner or later, Lana might have to find it out for herself.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think Sally's right. In the grand scheme of things, Lana isn't someone that's at all important to WWE. She was hired for her look, her acting ability and the fact that she can fluently speak Russian and mimic the accent. She's not a wrestler and has never even been trained to wrestle in any way, shape or form. She's a mouthpiece and nothing more. As a result, whenever/if ever Rusev goes babyface, they'll either have to radically change her character or she'll be let go.

 

[A11oftheLights]

Lana will do a combination of three things assuming Rusev goes face(dont see why he'd go face after losing though)
1. She'll turn on him
2. Transition into a authority figure before her inevitable release
3. Transition to an in-ring competitor

Obviously Rusev cant turn on Lana as that'd make lana face and also be a man assaulting a woman. I don't see why Lana couldnt be a face though just drop the whole supremacist thing with the pair now seeing the error of their ways and proclaiming the glory of the United States.

If Lana is to have longevity, she needs to either be with Rusev or have creative somehow manage to find a logical way to make her american.

 

[nbieclkl91]

Lana will become the next Miss Elizabeth. No need for her to wrestle. She is perfect as a manager (whether that be heel or face). She could eventually even go on to become GM or just manage other superstars in the future.

 

[DCLXVI]

I agree with the above post. Though they aren't often used anymore, I still think there is room for valets today (like Marlena, Elizabeth, etc.).

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Lana seems entirely malleable. She has been nothing but competent in this role and I am sure she could take on something new. She could even get someone new. I hear Rowan is looking for a woman. Maybe he is interested in Russian culture. There is always the bump on the head leading to a new personality or her falling in love and becoming a new person because of it. Vince may need to name a new GM in a few weeks. If AJ could do it, Lana could do it better. Plus if Zeb can go face, Lana can do the same.

This is all assuming she can't wrestle. Plus I doubt Rusev is going face any time soon.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

They could eventually turn Rusev or Lana babyface by having them turn on each other. Maybe Rusev shows some sympathy for his opponents, and when he loses Lana teams up with someone bigger to beatdown Rusev for losing and being weak. Similar to the actual ending to Rocky IV.

 

[Bernkastel]

Lana is a manager, not a wrestler. Managers are usually far more easier to turn than the wrestlers they manage. The exception would be managers that are associated with more than one superstar. But Lana is only managing Rusev at the moment, and if he turns face in a convincing fashion and fans love him, there's zero reason why Lana can't make the transition too. Look at Zeb Coulter. Jack Swagger was a heel for a long time, and Zeb was instrumental in getting him over, when Swagger turned face so did Zeb.

Lana's future is entirely dependent on Rusev. If he does well and has allot of success, so will she.

 

[kadroan]

No. I think she'll manage somebody else. I'm sure WWE can pull somebody from NXT or repackage one of the wrestlers on the active roster they don't have any plans for and put him with Lana.

 

[L@RISANO]

Easy.


Have Rusev turn on Lana at some point as he goes higher up the ladder and a better undefeated record...then have Lana pair up with Cesaro, who gets his own face turn and becomes the one to defeat Rusev.


Cesaro's Mic Work isn't up to par, and having someone like Lana with him would be a help...all it needs is a suitable gimmick for the pairing to work flawlessly, because I never felt right with the Heyman-Cesaro pairing, though that wasn't allowed to grow anyways due to the booking.

 

[WimpyKid4Life]

Rusev could break up with her once he loses his success and falls off so to speak. Lana becomes a sympathy figure. Then Roman Reigns uses his bad-ass vibe to comfort Lana after a heart-breaking break-up and then he teaches her about the American life! Have Roman Reigns say something like "I'm a man of a few words. You see, I let my action do the talking. But every Superman needs his Wonder Woman." Lana becomes Roman Reigns' manager/mouth piece after dropping the Anti-American/Pro-Russia propaganda gimmick. Lana is the beautiful attractive girlfriend to the bad-ass superstar and Roman calls her something like "Lanes" or something and that could become her official name, completing the repackaging of Lana.

 

[capnwillie]

Lana can definitely be a long-term manager, and WWE will keep her relevant for as long as she is employed because she's absolutely gorgeous. If Rusev had debuted and wrestled without her, I'm pretty sure he would already be another Tensai-type. With her as manager, people have taken notice and he's getting the heat that he needs... to his credit, his English seems to be pretty solid and he is improving his own mic skills gradually.

Lana (or CJ, if you will) already has some acting credits to her name (Cinemax's Banshee and Pitch Perfect, most notably) as well as an impressive professional ballet/dance resumé so there is no question she can find lucrative work outside of WWE. I hope she sticks around, though, because even a bad Raw has a few minutes of watch-worthy TV when she's on the screen.

 

[Navi]

Much as I would love to see Lesnar F5 the pair of them, Rusev and Lana, sadly that will probably never happen.

Sally is right she's not a wrestler, and with her "I'm better than all of you" attitude, she doesn't play well with others.

This is the problem when you have a gimmick like her's. While right now you can believe she's a cold hearted Russian bitch, if Rusev ever turns face, she wouldn't be believable in any other mode. Like all of a sudden she starts talking with an American accent, changes her whole way of dressing. Nah wouldn't work. She's a one dimensional character, that's the way the WWE has made her and that's how she'll stay.

Now if Stephanie is pregnant, maybe she could become part of the Authority and help run the show with HHH in Stephanie's absence. Nah that wouldn't work either. Yea she's toast.

 

[stingray11214]

I think people forget that Lana was a ballet dancer and she is very flexible physically. I could see Lana being trained in NXT and quite possibly be one of the better wrestlers in the Diva's division. She has the stamina, flexibility and jumping ability to make the transition to wrestler. Add everything else that she has, she can be a monster in the ring. I would not write off Lana as just another bimbo or pretty face.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Lana won't be the one to turn when the inevitable happens. The back-story of the pair is that she is the dominant one and Rusev is the 'hero of Russoa' but actually from Bulgaria; she is the proud Russian, he will eventually hit a losing streak and Lana will lambaste him, similar to how Sherri assaulted the Macho King at Wrestlemania VII, but Lana will do it as he 'embarrassed the great nation of Russia'.

From there, Rusev will have a face run whilst Lana will probably segue into managing another European wrestler or maybe tag team. NXT seems to be filling up with international signings so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch, or even Cesaro as another poster mentioned earlier.

Basically Lana being as naturally beautiful as she is, as well as effective at what she does, is what ensures she won't be future endeavoured for a long time.

 

[HeroForHire]

I think she would be great in the GM role. Later down the road she can be the heel GM. Raw is a much better she when they have a good heel running it, and she could really pull it off.

I agree with if she starts wrestling then she will become just another face in the crowd and will be let go soon after.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Here's the thing... WWE got a bit of a "bargain" when they hired Lana, in that she was already in some high profile movies like Pitch Perfect. So she was hired with an eye on that.

There is a lot of mileage in the "westernising" of Lana, they already had flashes of it with The Rock a few weeks back, a subtle reaction to him telling her she was hot... These could be played for comedy or more likely a serious angle, where she gets torn between enjoying the freedoms the West has.

There is equal mileage in keeping her as a heel manageress for the long haul, just not with Rusev. They never really have replaced Sherri as that A-List evil woman on the roster...

WWE will want to use her for films, she has a "presence" in Hollywood already, I think she's also in PP2 so they're gonna want to use that. It's a little like when they signed Freddy Prinze Jr as a writer, it's an "in" that they want to keep in their locker.

 

[rbv13]

Funny how so many are stuck on her current character and how it will prevent her from evolving. I must have forgotten that it is impossible for anyone to have a serious change in gimmick. She is very talented and could/should have a very successful run with the company. It would be cool to see Lana reinvent the long lasting powerful women of the '80s/'90s. I'm tinking of ladies like Hyatt, Sunny and Woman. Great on air characters and giant ****es backstage.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Lana is pretty much this generation's Terri Runnels, which is not a bad thing. First and foremost, this girl can find a job outside of the WWE easily, as she is an accomplished dancer and already has some roles in her resume - so seeing her, leaving WWE isn't all that heart-breaking (Terri however, wasn't that... versatile let's call it).

But if WWE really wants to give her a whole new dynamic, I am pretty sure they can. As far as we know, kayfabe speaking, Lana and Rusev are only business partners - but what would happen if Lana got the hots for some other wrestler? That could be scenario #1. Also - Vickie Guerrero was never a wrestler for instance, and we all saw her more than we needed inside the squared circle, so why can't Lana get the same sometime down the future? Let's say, Rusev loses a match and Lana is forced to compete against a Diva (who's that said Superstar's girlfriend, for example, let's say we have a Bryan v. Rusev feud, with Brie and Lana involved) - Scenario #2.

She could easily leave Rusev, by either turning on him (most likely) or to just get repackaged as a businesswoman, that we've all seen, she can pull it off. She could easily lead a stable as well. But the thing is, she ain't gonna change the world or going to be a priority, so, this small role is more than enough for her, I'm pretty sure. After Rusev, she could leave and we would all forget about her in a week.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Lana definitely has a future in the WWE. She's been great as Rusev's manager and for the vast majority of his push had been the only reason I could tolerate Rusev, who finally grew on me just recently. Lana is very good on the mic getting fans to hate her and cheer for Rusev's opponent. I doubt he would have gotten as far as he has without her, so if their alliance ever ends she would be able to help another struggling heel. I'd really like to see what she can do in the ring but in a managerial capacity she still has the potential to be worth keeping onscreen for quite some time.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

As of now, I'd say not unless she really has strong aspirations to eventually be an in-ring talent & even then the average shelf life of Divas is still rather short. Her character is good but it's very one note & unless she aligns herself with another foreign type character to manage after Rusev, I don't really see what else she could do.

But then again she hasn't been around all that long. AJ's original nerdy girl next door gimmick seemed like all she really had at first. It wasn't all that amazing or original & she really only had a solid run with it as Daniel Bryan's girlfriend but since the angle got over WWE randomly made her the GM of RAW & since then she has basically been on a roll. Maybe the same thing will happen with Lana, who knows? If there is no more authority then maybe we can see Lana become a GM or something like that sooner rather than later & maybe she can surprise the fans & stick around for a while.

 

[JoeMallard]

From what I've read, she's been training to become a wrestler for awhile now. She is good on the mic, which is rare for a diva. If she happens to become a good wrestler, the sky is the limit! AJ Lee has even stated that Lana has a big future ahead of her. Not to compare, but if given the time, she could be on the level as Trish Stratus.