Rusev/Lana what happened to these two?

[Navi]

When Rusev debuted a couple of years ago with the Ravishing Russian Lana as his mouthpiece, they managed to become major heels right off the bat. The anti-American rhetoric and Lana in her skin tight skirts got the crowd going every night. Rusev went on to become an almost unstoppable monster with Lana encouraging him all the way. What the hell has happened with this pair, they have become a shadow of their former selves in a couple of short years.

We watched Rusev have one of the best entrances to Mania ever coming in riding a Russian tank with half the Russian army guarding him, and Lana was right beside him. Last week at Battleground Rusev met John Cena in a flag match. Not only was it one of the most boring matches I've ever watched, but instead of taking steps forward Rusev seems to be back where he was when he debuted. Only difference this time was Lana wasn't with him. Instead she has gone from being this ice queen in a short skirt to getting squashed in the ring in a matter of minutes.

How could the WWE screw up a couple that had so much promise? First of all Lana should NOT be wrestling at all. When you have someone like Asuka spinning her tires in NXT, why is Lana getting not only a match each week, but in three cases a shot at the title. It's almost embarrassing to watch her right now. Rusev is doing no better either. It's almost like they don't want them together, but apart yea doesn't work for me.

This hasn't just happened recently either. I began to notice the changes during that horrible storyline with Ziggler and Summer Rae. Rusev and Lana have in my eyes never recovered from it, it was that bad. Then they had the heat from getting married, don't know if that is or was a factor and then you had some injuries.

It's almost mind boggling that you had almost the perfect twosome, great booking and watch it go up in smoke. Now I know things change, wrestlers grow and move on but they usually get better storylines, not in this case.

Thoughts or is it just me?

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I think it's a highly saveable solution. Put them back together with Rusev doing some squashing for awhile while Lana does her talking and promoting Russia. It worked before. Lana the wrestler IMO doesn't really work at all. She's just not very good. Rusev just came back to get beaten by John Cena. They both need a soft reboot and put them back together.

 

[OYDK]

Rusev is another case of inconsistent booking, and Lana is just an example of WWE trying to cash-in by hotshotting an incredibly good-looking woman to the top before she's even remotely ready. They did the same thing with Eva Marie. No matter what they say about the Women's Revolution, there still seems to be this almost obsessive need to showcase a woman who has the "perfect look," no matter her skills in the ring. There's a reason Alexa Bliss, after showing some competency, had the rocket strapped to her ass pretty quickly. That's not to say that she doesn't deserve it because she has been great, but I find it doubtful she would have gotten pushed so hard, so fast if she had the looks of say... Bayley.

Women's wrestling has come a long way from the days of the Candice Michelle's and the Kelly Kelly's; women who probably would never have been looked at back then are getting the opportunities to thrive now, and that's a good thing. But there still seems to be that compulsive urge among the higher-ups to find someone with that supermodel aspect to run the division. Which would be completely understandable if that person was at least passable in the ring, a la Alexa Bliss. Lana should probably have been kept as a manager. That's what she was good at. If they wanted to make her a wrestler, they should have sent her through the regular route. Developmental, NXT, and then, once she picked up some skills, the main roster. As it stands now, they put her out there before she was ready and she's pretty much already dead in the water, which she'll probably get blamed for.

As for Rusev, it's like they lose interest in him every few months. They'll build him up and then completely forget about him before building him up and forgetting about him again. He's been consistently good ever since his debut, but they just don't seem to want to push him higher up the card for whatever reason. Maybe they don't see him as World Champion material? Who knows.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

The worst thing that can happen to a wrestler, in the long term, is a looooong undefeated streak to start their career. You will never be that good ever again. And then, they split up the best manager/wrestler pair in the company, and include Heyman/Bork in this. Rusev is a really good talker, but having Lana with him made it that much better. He wasn't just a beast, he was a beast that was SO GOOD he had one of the most beautiful women on the face of the Earth happily at his side.

They need to be together, but idk how they will accomplish that.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I can't help but wonder if the WWE are still angry with them over publicly announcing their relationship status during that idiotic storyline with Summer Rae and Ziggler. Can you blame Rusev and Lana? If you're about to marry someone in real life but then your work makes you and your fiancee run a storyline together where you enter into relationships with other people who then feud with each other? I hated that storyline. That was one of the worst storylines in recent memory. And that's coming from one of the biggest Summer Rae marks on the forum. She never recovered from that storyline and to a much worse extent neither did Rusev or Lana. What were they even thinking? Lana and Ziggler made NO sense.

They could be salvaged if they could just go back to being together onscreen. The fans want to see Lana as Rusev's manager, not stumbling over herself in horrible title matches she has no business being in. Rusev is boring without Lana. Sure he has moments of being funny on the mic at times, although his best promo work was always when Lana was doing promos with him. I have no doubt that separating them, the stupid flag match, and Lana's "opportunities" at the Smackdown Women's Championship were a way of punishing them for "ruining" a storyline that needed to be put out of its misery. Learn from Rusev and Lana's mistake, everyone. Don't date your co-workers. In all seriousness though, I want to see Lana back as Rusev's manager. Another US Championship run could be good or maybe Rusev could form a tag team with another heel and Lana could manage both guys.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

When Rusev debuted a couple of years ago with the Ravishing Russian Lana as his mouthpiece, they managed to become major heels right off the bat. The anti-American rhetoric and Lana in her skin tight skirts got the crowd going every night. Rusev went on to become an almost unstoppable monster with Lana encouraging him all the way. What the hell has happened with this pair, they have become a shadow of their former selves in a couple of short years.

Rusev's purpose was to be built up in order for Cena to take him down. It was very 80's Hogan booking except Rusev got more exposure beforehand than Hogan's monsters.

After Cena vanquished Rusev he became a shell of himself and new heels started getting the pushes.

We watched Rusev have one of the best entrances to Mania ever coming in riding a Russian tank with half the Russian army guarding him, and Lana was right beside him.

That tank was for Cena's benefit more than Rusev's. It made things mean more when Cena won.

Last week at Battleground Rusev met John Cena in a flag match. Not only was it one of the most boring matches I've ever watched,

If your argument is that Rusev deserves better, this does not help support that.

but instead of taking steps forward Rusev seems to be back where he was when he debuted. Only difference this time was Lana wasn't with him. Instead she has gone from being this ice queen in a short skirt to getting squashed in the ring in a matter of minutes.

How could the WWE screw up a couple that had so much promise? First of all Lana should NOT be wrestling at all.

You make it sound like Lana has no choice. She may want to wrestle. By wrestling I assume Lana is making more money. Her shelf life in WWE is probably pretty short. By being more than a valet she may be making more money. Wrestling may be what Lana wants, WWE may be accommodating her desires, not forcing her to do something that buries her.

When you have someone like Asuka spinning her tires in NXT, why is Lana getting not only a match each week, but in three cases a shot at the title. It's almost embarrassing to watch her right now. Rusev is doing no better either. It's almost like they don't want them together, but apart yea doesn't work for me.

Although it is not NXT's sole purpose, NXT is there to make money too. Asuka helps fill that and she continues to build her legend which will make her more valuable to the main roster. Lana going to NXT or developmental just wastes her shelf life.

This hasn't just happened recently either. I began to notice the changes during that horrible storyline with Ziggler and Summer Rae. Rusev and Lana have in my eyes never recovered from it, it was that bad. Then they had the heat from getting married, don't know if that is or was a factor and then you had some injuries.

There is really little evidence and no concrete evidence that Lana ever had heat or was punished in any way. In fact, her and Rusev were given the Total Divas gig. Not exactly a punishment.

More recently you have to question Lana dropping a lot of her Russian mystique and what is going on in American politics plus Linda McMahon's role with the White House. It is pure speculation on my part but I can see where WWE may have wanted to tone things down.

It's almost mind boggling that you had almost the perfect twosome, great booking and watch it go up in smoke. Now I know things change, wrestlers grow and move on but they usually get better storylines, not in this case.

Thoughts or is it just me?

It's not just you but it's definitely not me. Rusev was never seen as a long term too star. He premiered as the guy who had the job of catching Kofi Kingston in a Rumble. He made it work on the main roster for awhile with his hot valet, politically valid gimmick, and strong booking but like most monster heels they get big pushes and then lose value once they are no longer undefeated.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

They refused to suck backstage dick.

They tried to rebel got shut down.

I hope you got your answer.

 

[ISkye]

Well he fell off over 2 years ago at this point and hasn't risen to 60% of the run his initial U.S. title / Undefeated streak run was. I never really considered him being treated like a tier 1 guy considering what was going to happen to him eventually was blatantly obvious months in advance. That couple months after Wrestlemania where he ate his first pinfall to Cena honestly were absolutely awful for him. Even though it was kind of expected I felt like it was somewhat surprisingly fast it went downhill.

So after a never ending awesome title reign as an absolute monster heel Cena pins him at Wrestlemania. Then Cena is nice enough to beat him again in his own match stipulation (Russian chain match) with relative ease and one AA. Then Cena returns the favor by defeating him for the 3rd time in a row in an I quit match via screwy finish where he didn't even submit. Then he ends his affiliation with Lana which seaways us into probably the worst story line that year. Lana / Dolph and Summer Rae / Rusev.

Rusev looks to reconcile with Lana and gets emasculated. Then while facing Ryback he fractures his foot on Smackdown. He was unable to compete in the IC title elimination chamber match through this, and continues the awful love story line on crutches. This further complicates the heel and face dynamic to beyond the point of convoluted, but it continues on despite pure negative backlash and hate. It goes nowhere for weeks on TV until Rusev injures Dolph via bruised Trachea.

He returns and squashes Fandango, but is wearing shoes to prevent injury. He challenges Cena during the U.S. open after pinning cesaro in a triple threat. About to win his only relevance back Owens interrupts who lost in the triple threat earlier and attacks Rusev. Thanks to 50 / 50 booking Cesaro got his win back, creating the 2nd pinfall loss for Rusev on TV. Things dip somewhat horrifically here somehow as if all the other stuff wasn't enough. Dolph returns to have the 'pay off' to this nightmare at Summerslam which of course ended in a double count out via interference by Summer and Lana. Then, TMZ.

TMZ breaks the story of the engagement between Lana and Rusev in person and they very clearly express confirmation of it. It put an end to the worst story line of 2015, but even that couldn't save Rusev. In October on Main Event he injures his Bicep in a match with Neville. He comes back an entire month later to have a career resurgence and joins the legendary League of Nations. They align with Mr. McMahon in one of the biggest attempts to pretend a superstar is good and you should be sports entertained by them of all time. Rusev, King Barret, Sheamus, Mr. McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie, Owens, The entire roster, etc. lays over for Roman for months. They even used the Money in the bank contract to get Sheamus the belt literally just to assist the storyline for a little less than a month. Then the Royal Rumble rolls around and Rusev comes out at No.2 to get buried in a minute 1/2 to the Big Dog. Then comes out later with his buddies to power bomb and screw Roman, but it's literally just to assist his Wrestlemania main event.

Wrestlemania comes. League defeats New Day by miracle, but 3 50 year old men (2 with career ending injuries) come out and beat them up. Then with the Big Dogs rise to glory complete and the three near senior citizens happy the League of course, disbands. He then proceeds to bully mid card guys and jobbers and takes the U.S. title off Kalisto, because no one likes Kalisto. He defeats legends such as Zack Ryder and Titus O Neil to retain consistently, but he made a mistake when he bad mouthed the Big Dog. The Big Dog ruins a wedding celebration and a filler put roman over feud starts.

Roman lose once. Big dog take title. Big dog no lay over for Rusev at Hell in a Cell, Roman retain. U.S. title becomes accessory for the Big Dog. Then he ends up floundering endlessly and somehow befriends Jinder Mahal in a few throwaway TV filler comedy feuds to. Oh also Big Show and Cesaro interrupt their break up and bury both of them on the same PPV back to back in front of each other. Rusev was injured during that and had to leave TV with Lana, again. That was at Fastlane, here we are now. He got drafted in the superstar shake up and he finally came back months later for Cena to bury him a 3rd time in an awkward U.S > World stipulation match on PPV.


Looking back on all of it.. He really, really has had one of the worst runs of any wrestler in several major promotions that come to mind on a remarkably consistent basis. He basically was created to be fed to Cena and then was used to *attempt* to make another Cena which he was eventually fed to. On and Off injuries, Bad storylines, and the entire TMZ thing really plagued his career over the last 2 years. He isn't that bad off considering he's the guy they use to work with Goldberg, The Rock, and most upper echelon talent. With a young age and tons of room for improvement I could see him leaving and becoming a good talent, but he really does have a big part in WWE. He moves major story lines along and really fuels the never ending fire that is WWE.

He gets legitimate heel heat while not being on the level as lets say Kevin Owens and can wrestle decent matches with a majority of the roster. Of course there is room for improvement on a lot of ends in WWE, but I think overall Rusev has done more than okay for himself. Given time I thing we could see him being in the upper echelon even if just for a one time world or universal title run for a short stint. He is a very big deal and they tend to make him out as such on commentary. Even if he isn't as apparent as others or moves the way fans like him to a majority of his booking and appearances have been solid in the greater machine of WWE.

 

[Wildcat66]

Once the word got out that Rusev and Lana were getting married in the middle of a storyline, any chances of them meaning anything more than a midcard talent were dashed. Yeah, we can argue that backstage politics had a bit of influence in this, but at the end of the day; they brought a good portion of their misfortune to themselves.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

To be perfectly honest, I never really saw Rusev going any higher than he's already been. Rusev always struck me as a good mid-card/upper mid-card heel with a gimmick that I honestly thought wouldn't really get anywhere. I was wrong on that as I figured the whole arrogant foreigner schtick wouldn't really catch on as it's so old fashioned but it worked. I think it worked because Rusev could not only play the part well but Lana was a great piece of eye candy and had a lot of natural charisma. I mean, let's face it, when Lana came out with her hair in that severely tight bun wearing those extremely short & tight skirts in the way she carried herself, you paid attention.

When it comes to Rusev, I wouldn't mind seeing him repackaged in some way. Maybe make him into a bodyguard for Bobby Roode when/if Roode makes his way to the main roster. Is it limited? In some ways because, as I said, Rusev isn't someone who ever really struck me as a main event guy based on what I've seen the past few years. However, he's a very powerful, burly guy with a great build and could look intimidating as hell as some suited mercenary to protect someone.

I think this is sort of an example of net fans making something into a much bigger deal than it really is. All it would take for them to be right back to where they were is for WWE to simply put them back together with some variation on what they were doing before.

As far as Lana goes, I think I went overboard myself when it was announced that Lana would get all those SD Women's Championship matches. I assumed WWE would hot shot her to the top mostly because of her looks well before she was ready and while I suppose that could still be the case, it's seeming far less likely as each week passes. She's lost every single match she's had in decisive fashion and it's also getting harder to imagine her rising to the top with her in this thing with Tamina. Initially, it looked like some sort of bodyguard type of thing but that doesn't seem to be the case; now, it's almost looking like some sort of strange mentor/student deal. That in and of itself is really weird considering that Tamina is pretty much a 40 year old nobody who happens to have a famous father.

 

[GOOZEKING]

Rusev and Bray Wyatt both suffer from the same exact problems. You see they are both unique in their own ways and have very high potential to be top guys. They ALWAYS win their matches. Until they face John Cena and Roman Reigns. Both them where dominant and top guys then they go in feuds with John Cena and Roman Reigns and "magically" start looking like nerds. Losing constantly, made fun of, it's the same for both.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Rusev hasn't been the same since losing to Cena at three PPVs in a row in 2015.

Yeah it totally killed his momemtum and character, but Cena just HAD to look strong.

Fortunately their fixing the situation by having him lose again! That's totally gonna work, right?

As for Lana, well she can't wrestle. She should be a manager again.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

I like Rusev, he is a funny guy, and he is good in the ring. Turn the guy face, let him do more funny stuff on the mic, ppl will get behind him, granted.

 

[stingray11214]

I will bet you that there is a feeling in the back that Rusev and Lana are not serious about the business. Granted, Rusev and Lana have probably worked very hard to be in WWE. However, the reality is that they are probably not considered "Company folks". Look at the "love triangle" angle. Granted, it probably made some people uncomfortable. And, it probably scared the shit out of Rusev. However, there are better ways of showing your displeasure other then announcing your RL engagement on Twitter, which blew up a storyline.

Another incident, and if WWE had any excuse for deflating them, this would be a good reason. You see, they asked for "time off". Not to rest or for a family emergency, mind you. So, why ask for the time off? Both are season ticket holders for the Nashville Predators. ANd, they wanted to cheer them to victory. Huh? You try that with your boss. Go ahead, I insist. See how long you keep your job. Now, add the cryptic threats Rusev is sending via Twitter regarding leaving the Company, you can see why WWE is no longer very serious with them.

 

[Just Do It]

When they split for the first time on screen, they were never the same after that. It was a really strange period, and to think, they were such a good and strong act at the time. It gt really strange, really quick.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

In the last year or so when Rusev and Lana were put back together it hasn't been the same as initial 2015 run when Rusev was undefeated. Rusev has improved a great deal on the mic and is more comfortable doing promos. So I don't think he necessarily needs a mouth piece. I admire Lana for training to to be apart of the Women's Division. She could have coasted on her good looks and charisma and could have been a valet her whole career. She's not getting pushed to the moon and the pairing with Tameena helps protect her shortcoming. I think Rusev and Lana have peaked together so split them up for a while and see what they can do on there own.

 

[Radical]

What happened is WWE Creative made terrible decisions for the development of Rusev and Lana around the time of the first Rusev vs Cena feud, when Rusev lost.

Now, Rusev wasn't 'crushed' yet, but nothing WWE Creative did after that really helped him or Lana. YET, they were still getting good heel heat because of the attraction of Lana being with this brute Rusev. People took notice and Rusev could get heat from the crowd for ranting and raving about his greatness and the support and adoration he gets from Lana and vice versa.

Seems like someone in "Creative" (i put it in quotes because they aren't being very creative in this situation) just doesn't believe in the potential of Rusev with Lana anymore.

This is laughable because the ONLY thing that made me interested in Rusev or Lana is when Rusev is WITH Lana and vice versa.

I have ZERO interest in seeing Lana wrestle unless it was a REALLY compelling storyline arc when she is with Rusev. But Lana as a singles wrestler is a joke. Pure and simple, it's a joke. She is beautiful but not a good wrestler.

And, I have little interest in seeing Rusev by himself.

There is a lot WWE could do to repair the characters of Rusev and Lana to be more interesting and it starts with putting them back together.

This doesn't mean Rusev needs to go on a massive win streak and hot shot to the top as a champion. He may, indeed, be best suited for mid-card feuds and titles. But he is hardly worth the time if he is just there by himself and for no GOOD reason he doesn't have Lana by his side.