The reality is that Undertaker vs Jericho is just a bigger name match than vs Rusev, who is most likely working us all through social media to drum up more popularity for himself. He may be doing this on his own, but more likely this is the decided direction for his character now that he's being removed from the match.
With Rusev Day's popularity being as electric as it is, the fear that he'll follow others such Ryder, Slater and Mizdow off of TV screens.
There is a chance that they're trying to follow the Daniel Bryan program of keeping him heel and holding off his push as they did with Bryan after Mania 28. That was likely part of the thinking of pairing him with hated enhancement talent Aiden English. The reality is they've given Rusev his Team Hell No and he's just gotten more popular.
Unlike Ryder, Slater, or Mizdow, WWE has invested so much more in Rusev - he's a multi time US champion who fought John Cena at a WrestleMania. Their program ultimately went on too long and was drizzling shits by the end, but nonetheless it was a Cena match at Mania.
If a wrestler had Rusev's physique, in ring ability and charisma - and that man was from North America - he would be in the WWE title picture now. Like Cesaro before him, one of the biggest hurdles against him is that he's not from the good old US of A.
Look at the main event, Lesnar and Styles - both good old American boys. Sure, Reigns is Samoan but he was raised on the states and he looks like Roman Reigns does. They just turned Shinsuke heel. It's rare in WWE to see a non-North American get over as a massive babyface.
Whatever the case, it's smart to pull Rusev and continue to drum up his grassroots support, but only if it goes someone where. Ryder rose to the US title, only to be thrown off the stage by Kane. Mizdow rose against Miz only to become a terrible Macho Man impersonator. Slater rose to the tag titles only to disappear from TV. What's next for Rusev?
English and Rusev need to stay together. It wouldn't hurt to stick Lana back with them and have her pull a Kofi Kingston and drop the Russian thing. Rusev Day should win the tag belts on one of the shows, and down the line Rusev could slot into mid card titles.
Or, Rusev should leave WWE. He's only 32. Follow the Drew McIntyre model and reinvent yourself on the indies. Join Bullet Club, fight Omega, join Impact, fight Aries, come back in three years and win the NXT title. Then return to the main roster.
Rusev Day has the power to be as strong as the Yes movement with an extremely talented individual behind it that can be taken seriously unlike many recent crowd favourites. There's a lot of guys at the top in WWE now (Reigns, Styles, Strowman, Lesnar) and a few returns that raise questions (Bryan and Lashley) but Rusev is homegrown talent that is hotter than ever and they need to pull the trigger on him in some way shape or form.