Rusev Replaced

[Pay Per Ghost]

Now here's a tin foil hat...

No reason has been given so far as to why was this match changed; Rusev released it, WWE did it and that it was gonna be a Casket Match after (correct if I am wrong) a good 7 years. Big deal and all of a sudden BOOM! Y2J.

Machka injured, doghoused?

Speculatively speaking, this might have been done to actually not have an emerging face against Taker, then again, Jericho is gonna get a solid pop and reaction too.

Maybe the Saudis just don't like the Soviets.

 

[Spencesc11]

Taker vs. Jericho makes more sense. Why bury a guy who is way over by a veteran who typically only wrestles once a year? Rusev should be repackaged and brought back as the dominant force like when he came in.

 

[andvari7]

It gets better:

Rusev has removed all references to WWE from his social media profiles, given his contact information for booking, and has unfollowed everybody from his estranged employers. This all coincides with an interview he and Lana did with TMZ, in which neither were in their gimmicked accents.

This could either be a future endeavor announcement before the announcement, or a very, very well-orchestrated face turn, and the whole Twitter thing is a work.

 

[Greg4WWE]

Cena Cost Taker match, setting up match at Backlash?

I think it's one of 2 things for Rusev. And yes I am being obvious here. Either 1. WWE now finds him far too over to book him like that, or 2. He was granted release and will be gone soon.

I hope it's 1, he has been getting huge reaction lately.

 

[shadyfozzie]

I hope Rusev gets drafted to Raw and faces Lesner for the title.. That would be awesome!

 

[The Perfect Max]

Either it's all a work building towards something bigger for Rusev, or it's time to say goodbye to Rusev Day in WWE. This might just be my cynicism seeping through here, but I'm leaning towards the latter.

I understand the logic that having someone like Rusev, who is undeniably over with the crowd whether WWE are choosing to accept it or not, falling to someone like Undertaker in a Casket Match is detrimental to someone like Rusev. Because someone like Rusev should in theory be getting a stronger face push towards bigger and better things, not losing in effectively meaningless matches just to serve the crowd's interest in getting to see Undertaker in Saudi Arabia, is a good call. So, WWE could have realised that. Yet, I personally doubt that considering they not only let Rusev take the fall at WrestleMania, but he then lost AGAIN on SmackDown when it could have easily been Jinder Mahal, one of WWE's most hated main roster stars, against one of its rising stars. So, why take him out of the Casket Match when the prior booking doesn't make it seem as if WWE cares all that much about progressing Rusev as a face.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, and I hope I am. But a Rusev release wouldn't surprise me at all, and in a way I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner.

And in fairness, I love the sound of Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho.

 

[Vintage Punk]

I don't think they find him too over or they would've put the US title on him at Mania or at least had someone else eat the pin. News says he removed references of WWE in twitter and is basically through statements implying he is leaving. Of course this could be a work as this has happened numerous times before with rumors of wrestlers leaving. Rusev should be run as a face in the same vein as Big E where he is a big dude that could be that monster type that Vince loves but is goofy in his personality that it works. Not sure how long the whole Rusev Day will last as it is the in thing to chant right now but WWE should at least strike while the iron is hot. WWE should work in some backstage promos with Rusev and English in some comedic material. Also Rusev is trademarked by WWE so if he left he can't use the whole Rusev Day deal.

 

[stingray11214]

I think he burned too many bridges backstage with his antics. I would not be surprised that his contract is nearly up, and Rusev wants to go the "Cody Rhodes route". If he is really serious, change his name legally to "Alexander Rusev" and make a killing on the Indy scene. If RoH signs him and CJ "Lana" Parker, all bets are off. RoH and NJPW will be in a position that nobody has been in for 20 years: a chance to seriously compete with WWE.

 

[Greg4WWE]

I think he burned too many bridges backstage with his antics. I would not be surprised that his contract is nearly up, and Rusev wants to go the "Cody Rhodes route". If he is really serious, change his name legally to "Alexander Rusev" and make a killing on the Indy scene. If RoH signs him and CJ "Lana" Parker, all bets are off. RoH and NJPW will be in a position that nobody has been in for 20 years: a chance to seriously compete with WWE.

I would love that.

And yes I know my SN is Greg4WWE, but I made it a very long time ago. I would love an organization to make Vince write better again or get left behind.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I fell it's just Rusev being rusev trying to get attention on social media. The thing is with Rusev is that's he became Popular at the wrong period of the year. The whole Rusev day thing really became huge going into Mania and every major program at the time were already booked so you couldn't really call a audible and insert him in any of the major programs. So, they found a spot for him in the us title match at mania and while he took the pin, he still looked strong in the lost. Now they can actually focus on pushing him again which is why i think they went against putting him against Taker at the saudi arabia show. Because this was basically a squash match set up and they don't want to kill the brand, plus while he's a huge deal in north america, he might not get the same reaction in saudi arabia so again, you don't want to squash somebody that can make you money and you don't want to put somebody that might be perceive as not worth The undertaker's time either on a huge show like this one.

Also what makes me think that this is some just him trolling the fans is the fact That his Wife still has all her mentions of WWE on her twitter account and the fact that they use her account to explain why the switch was made tell me that they're really nothing to this story outside Rusev trying to get the smart fans to talk about him.

 

[theblackplague]

Yeah its all just a work....they tried to get us talking and seems as if it certainly worked....good job wwe...any chance of rusev winning the greatest royal rumble ever? never know

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I think it was a good move taking Rusev out of the match. Why are you going to put someone who's a hot commodity and has a cult like following get squashed by taker? They also risk a lot of the smark crowd turning on Taker and cheering Rusev. If this were a year or two ago when Rusev was the "Bulgarian Brute" and the foreign heel then it could've worked. Rusev certainly has the look and size to be a credible opponent for Taker if built up right.
Jericho vs Undertaker is a big match with two of the last stars from the attitude era. They've only had one singles match on tv and never had a one on one match at a ppv. It's a better use of Jericho if he's going to be working the show to have a high profile match rather than having him as filler in the Rumble match.

 

[sMark]

Sometimes it's better to leave big leagues to rebuild yourself in smaller ones with main event run there...
He can easily be main event guy in TNA for example. Yes, this is not WWE, but this is his personal chance to be in spotlight and try to run with it.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

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.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

They need to start building new people for the next year to challenge... this allows Rusev to do it with his "maverick" persona... There's mileage in him pulling a Punk and doing an interview where he goes into detail about he and Lana's problems with the company... how he has been forced to play sterotypes and now, when he is being himself get's pulled from a match with Taker etc... Fans will lap it up and you have a hot face for the rest of the year, ready to be destroyed by whoever down the line...

But look at this another way... it's equally possible Taker looked at it and said "I don't want to bury this kid with a loss, it won't help him... why not Jericho?" and Vince agreed. Rusev losing to Taker would do zero for Taker and kill Rusev Day off... Jericho losing to Taker (or maybe winning if Rusev interferes) perhaps sets something up later in the year or even Mania next year.

 

[Starkist]

Well looks like Rusev vs Taker is back on. All this seems pointless but hey, maybe Rusev pulls out a win here?

 

[King Patrick Star]

I’d rather see Chris Jericho vs. Rusev!! Better yet, make it Chris Jericho and Rusev vs. the Brothers Of Destruction!!

 

[adrienne2212]

I hope Rusev gets drafted to Raw and faces Lesner for the title

 

[Vintage Punk]

Apparently the news was that Rusev had sent out a tweet or something about Taker that an exec didn't like and he was pulled and replaced with Jericho but later added back. Either way he's losing and WWE fails to realize that maybe they should turn him face.