Is the Rusev/Big Show match from Smackdown more about Rusev or Big Show?

[It's...Baylariat!]

Have no idea if this thread's been made or not. I looked back for a spell... didn't see anything.

Anyway, apparently Big Show knocked out Rusev on Smackdown. Mind you, the impression was Rusev to be pushed to the moon and be fed to Cena at Wrestlemania. Does this change things? Do you take Rusev seriously now or does this make him into potential comedy jobber status before Wrestlemania?

Also, what's with Show getting booked to have a clean win over an undefeated opponent? Does this mean he's next for Brock Lesnar?

What are your thoughts? Is this match more about Rusev and the WWE not having faith in him anymore or about Big Show and finding credibility where there isn't any in order for him to legit threaten Brock Lesnar's title reign?

 

[spaldoni]

Rusev didn't lose clean. He got DQ. Big Show knocked him out after the match. I think they will have a ppv match and Rusev will beat Show to continue his push. I would like to see Rusev beat Cena at Mania. The loss wouldn't hurt Cena and would elevate Rusev sky high. Not to mention it would be a huge Mania curve ball.

 

[Navi]

Rusev didn't lose clean. He got DQ. Big Show knocked him out after the match. I think they will have a ppv match and Rusev will beat Show to continue his push. I would like to see Rusev beat Cena at Mania. The loss wouldn't hurt Cena and would elevate Rusev sky high. Not to mention it would be a huge Mania curve ball.

Yes a ball that will curve right around and come back and hit them square in the face. With all the talent on the roster today, how many people really want to see Cena and Rusev in the main event at the biggest show of the year? I know I don't. If I never see Rusev again, I wouldn't be missing him.

Rusev might be getting a push but he seems to be going nowhere fast, so whoever is pushing him, isn't doing a very good job of it. The crowds are just dead for him, he gets hardly any reaction at all. How the WWE is missing this is beyond me. Lana gets the heat and the fact that it's US vs Russia, when they come here to Canada, you can hear the paint dry before, during and after the match. No one gives a shit here about either of them.

 

[BenChillin]

More about Mark Henry turning on Big Show when they have the Show/Rusev rematch on Raw. Seemed like it was gonna happen on Main Event, should've happened on Smackdown, but here we are.

Just my guess.

 

[MartialHorror]

He didn't get a clean win. it was a DQ.

Anyway, I'm presuming it's just like the majority of Rusev's feuds. It seemed like the eventual loser dominates every confrontation before winning the match that counts. The Big Show will be interesting though as he usually doesn't lose clean as a face. Even when they have him take on someone who is obviously being put over, such, the match will be interrupted. So if this does become a feud, that aspect will be interesting.

Show has more credibility than Henry (who jobbed pretty hard in his last run) and Swagger (until his face turn, he had become a joke), so Rusev winning will take him up a notch.

On the other hand, if Big Show does deliver a clean win then at least everyone will be surprised and it might give Show momentum for another Title run...if that's the direction they want to take him.

But I suspect if this continues, then Rusev will come out on top. Maybe not a clean win, but a win all the same. Although if Mark Henry does betray the Big Show, that would likely kill the feud. I actually thought a Big Show heel turn was more likely, but maybe not.

The 'Rusev Vs Show' match was surprisingly good though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The impression I have from the match was that Rusev will be put, somewhat, in the role of an underdog during a feud with Big Show, a feud that Rusev will ultimately come out on top of. Rusev looked vulnerable for the first time due to Big Show "knocking him out" after their match was over. Rusev is technically no longer undefeated, but his defeat isn't something that counts for much in the eyes of most fans as it was a disqualification. While it SEEMED Rusev was about to take the knockout punch, we'll never really know had Lana not grabbed Show by the ankle. As Rusev was getting his bearings, he saw that Show had Lana cowering in the corner and he could merely have decided "the hell with the match, gotta save my squeeze" and used the flag as a weapon to make sure he had Show down long enough for Lana to get to safety. I'm not saying that's the storyline, but it could be interpreted that way and, after all, it's not as if nobody's ducked Big Show's knockout punch before.

Rusev being "knocked out" is the first little chink in his armor that fans have seen. He lost via disqualification and even though Big Show kept his promise to "KO" Rusev, he didn't entirely humble the guy. A DQ win for Show suggests that another match will happen and Show hitting the punch post match gives fans the notion that Show can beat Rusev in the middle of the ring and pin him. I think Show will want that, they'll have another match, Rusev will wind up winning this one and a rubber match will be set up where Rusev walks out a decisive winner. Paul Wight turns 43 in February of next year, his days of being a headliner in WWE are pretty much over. WWE's more focused now on younger stars, overall, rather than keeping aging guys who've been at the top of the card in that position. WWE's progressed Rusev from low card guys to lower mid-card wrestlers, former mid-card champions and his last two feuds have been against former World Champions. Beating Big Show will progress him a little further.

However, it's not impossible that Rusev MIGHT be pushed down a bit for the sake of Big Show. A few weeks back, stories were circulating online that Big Show would be the next guy to feud with Brock Lesnar over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. IF those stories turn out to be true, then it might be bad news for Rusev and that's unfortunate. Not only that, it's a waste because nobody's gonna buy into the notion of Big Show beating Brock Lesnar at this juncture. Even if Show pulled out the huge upset and did beat Lesnar, let's be honest, nobody's gonna be particularly excited about Big Show as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Personally, I'm hoping for the former rather than the latter. Show has the advantage over Rusev right now, so Rusev's victory could be all the sweeter by coming back over an opponent that's so much bigger.

 

[MartialHorror]

I'm still split on the idea of 'Lesnar Vs Big Show', as I still feel that Lesnar's inability to beat Show easily during a time period where he had clean wins over Undertaker and Cena is a hole that needs to be filled. I don't know if I'd want a drawn out feud, but I do think that Lesnar should get a clean win over him at some point.

 

[Mustang Sally]

However, it's not impossible that Rusev MIGHT be pushed down a bit for the sake of Big Show.

No, it's not impossible, but I wouldn't think they're looking to do anything with Big Show beyond what they just did with Mark Henry; make him look heroic and unstoppable for awhile.....yet have Rusev wind up using him as a stepping stone, as he did with Henry.

With Henry, even in the days before his unexpected title run a couple years ago when he was jobbing to people like Evan Bourne, they'd have him come out looking strong and puffed up.....only to go down to defeat. That's also what they did when Mark faced Rusev.

Now, it's Big Show's turn. Management figures it will wind up making Rusev look even better if they start out by making Show seem unstoppable. But Big Show's career is in the same period of decline as Mark Henry, and this feud will end up in the same manner as Rusev-Henry.

So, although the series might seem more about Big Show, it's actually just part of Rusev's push.

 

[Kizzani]

How is this even a Question, Big Show was on the NOC panel....Which if you pay attention that means your career is all but over....When was the last time you say Booker T, Or Alex Riley wrestle?
Big Show is done and has been for sometime, he is now a jobber for the new talent coming in. Mr. Heel/face/heel/face ( like so many clowns want to do with the wyatts) is done. Rusev will beat him at the PPV. PERIOD. Show is not just a figurehead

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Hopefully this leads to Rusev having to dig down deep, so he can pick up the win at Hell In A Cell, because at this point in his career, Show has nothing to gain by taking out Rusev in a feud. Big Show humbled the arrogant foreign heel, so Rusev storms back to defeat Show with a decisive victory.

Although, it wouldn't shock me if Show actually picked up the clean 1-2-3 over Rusev at Hell In A Cell. For some strange reason, this is the time of year, when things are slow, and when things are slow, we get the annual out of left field push for Big Show. Going back a handful of years, you had Big Show turning heel and feuding with Taker, the "iron clad" contract stuff John Laurinaitis, watching Stephanie and Triple H constantly humiliate Show and the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series last year, and the WHC win over Sheamus a few years ago.

In 2014, Big Show as a world champion is not enough to blow my skirt up, and I know I'm not alone. Show as the WHC tucked away on Smackdown, and Show having matches with the #2 world title is one thing, and he had some good matches with Sheamus. But now we're talking about a 42 year old Show as "The Guy"? I can't see it.

There's only ONE reason for Show as WWE WHC making any sense, and it's Brock Lesnar's sporadic appearances schedule. There's a chance Lesnar's schedule/contract is the same, meaning we won't see him again until 2015 (possibly Survivor Series).

Maybe Vince and WWE change their minds about Lesnat popping up every now and then, and they decide they need a world champion, who will appear every week, wrestle at every pay per view, every house show. I don't think they'll put the title on Cena again so soon, Orton is out of the question as a heel (and, let's face it, he needs to stay away from the world title scene for a while), so Big Show is on the short list as a one of the last "go-to-guys" as a veteran with real name value, future Hall Of Famer, and former world champion.

how many people really want to see Cena and Rusev in the main event at the biggest show of the year?

Cena VS Rusev doesn't need to main event Wrestlemania 31. If he's still the WWE WHC Champion, the main event should be Lesnar VS the Rumble winner. They can still run Cena VS Rusev as a featured Wrestlemania match, and stick the match in the middle of the card, similar to Wyatt VS Cena from Wrestlemania XXX this year.

 

[kadroan]

The impression I have from the match was that Rusev will be put, somewhat, in the role of an underdog during a feud with Big Show, a feud that Rusev will ultimately come out on top of. Rusev looked vulnerable for the first time due to Big Show "knocking him out" after their match was over. Rusev is technically no longer undefeated, but his defeat isn't something that counts for much in the eyes of most fans as it was a disqualification. While it SEEMED Rusev was about to take the knockout punch, we'll never really know had Lana not grabbed Show by the ankle. As Rusev was getting his bearings, he saw that Show had Lana cowering in the corner and he could merely have decided "the hell with the match, gotta save my squeeze" and used the flag as a weapon to make sure he had Show down long enough for Lana to get to safety. I'm not saying that's the storyline, but it could be interpreted that way and, after all, it's not as if nobody's ducked Big Show's knockout punch before.

Rusev being "knocked out" is the first little chink in his armor that fans have seen. He lost via disqualification and even though Big Show kept his promise to "KO" Rusev, he didn't entirely humble the guy. A DQ win for Show suggests that another match will happen and Show hitting the punch post match gives fans the notion that Show can beat Rusev in the middle of the ring and pin him. I think Show will want that, they'll have another match, Rusev will wind up winning this one and a rubber match will be set up where Rusev walks out a decisive winner. Paul Wight turns 43 in February of next year, his days of being a headliner in WWE are pretty much over. WWE's more focused now on younger stars, overall, rather than keeping aging guys who've been at the top of the card in that position. WWE's progressed Rusev from low card guys to lower mid-card wrestlers, former mid-card champions and his last two feuds have been against former World Champions. Beating Big Show will progress him a little further.

However, it's not impossible that Rusev MIGHT be pushed down a bit for the sake of Big Show. A few weeks back, stories were circulating online that Big Show would be the next guy to feud with Brock Lesnar over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. IF those stories turn out to be true, then it might be bad news for Rusev and that's unfortunate. Not only that, it's a waste because nobody's gonna buy into the notion of Big Show beating Brock Lesnar at this juncture. Even if Show pulled out the huge upset and did beat Lesnar, let's be honest, nobody's gonna be particularly excited about Big Show as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Personally, I'm hoping for the former rather than the latter. Show has the advantage over Rusev right now, so Rusev's victory could be all the sweeter by coming back over an opponent that's so much bigger.

I agree with what you said. I think Rusev is the underdog in the feud. They had to do something different this time around to make this feud different than his feuds with Swagger and Henry.

I expect Rusev to get the "upset win" over Show. It would be interesting if they had Rusev in a Survivor Series match next month but he doesn't seem to have any allies.

It wouldn't surprise me regardless of the result of their possible match at HIAC, to see a rematch at Survivor Series. Show is probably Rusev's most decorated opponent.

 

[chuckmdubya]

I don't like Big Show vs. Rusev, its too soon for that. I kind of hope that was a one time thing, or at least just a prelude to a future feud. There are a few people in wrestling that shouldn't lose for the sake of putting someone over, Show is one of them. I think when a giant like Big Show is defeated by an obviously inferior opponent, it cheapens the sport. Although Rusev, like he says, is a bull, he still is vastly physically inferior to Big Show. If they put them in a PPV match, and Rusev wins, it should at least be because he cheats.

 

[matt_hud]

The best way to book Rusev is to continue having him destroy people who attempt to defend the honor of the US with each new person being slightly higher on the card... At the Royal Rumble this masked wrestler runs in (not an entrant, just a run in) and eliminates Rusev from the Rumble while he dominating the Rumble...

Over the build to wrestlemania this mysterious masked man keeps making life harder for a pissed Rusev, finally the match is signed for Wrestlemania Rusev vs. The Mystery Man....

At Mania Rusev makes his entrance and then we get a all out American Pride entrance for a returning unmasked mystery man named Kurt Angle the Ultimate American Hero comes back to defend the US...