WWE: How Should We Feel About Lana?

The Ravishing Russian’s few in-ring matches in the WWE have been extremely underwhelming, so why does she keep getting opportunities?

Now that she’s on her own, I’m genuinely curious about how the WWE wants me to respond to Lana. Should I forget that she is a heel and feel bad for her? Should I relish in her humiliation? For me, it’s a bit of both. I enjoy watching Lana get her comeuppance every time she sets foot in a squared circle but I feel bad for C.J. Perry because taking these losses can’t be easy.

As is typical of WWE superstars, the character of “Lana” is much different from Perry’s real-life personality. During her time with Rusev, Lana was confident, ruthless, and brash. She played the heel role perfectly by admonishing American audiences and touting the greatness of both Russia and Vladimir Putin. Her good looks served as the perfect juxtaposition for the venom and contempt she would spew at Rusev’s opponents and quickly helped to make her a fan favorite. Now on her own, she is at her most vulnerable and has yet to win a single match.

This brings us to C.J. Perry. Like other female wrestlers, she has to work extremely hard to constantly improve her skills in the ring. After watching several matches it has become clear to me that she lacks whatever talents are necessary to make it as a singles competitor. This may seem like a harsh criticism but this is the WWE; it is not some amateur promotion with athletes just trying to break into the business. This is the top of the professional wrestling ladder and its members represent some of the best athletes in the world.

In some of her social media posts, the character of Lana exhibits some of her more sinister characteristics.

"“They laugh at me for trying & then wonder why I’m a mean girl? If I don’t stand up & fight for myself who will ? @WWE #Ravishing”"

However, her Instagram account seems to be handled by C.J. Perry:

"“I tried. I failed. No matter what I’ll try again. I’ll fail again. I’ll fail better. I’ll keep learning. ……. thank you to the amazing #MMA fighter for training with me @paulinepitamacias @nashvillemma Be resilient in chasing your dreams #LanaSquad”"

This leaves me puzzled about how the WWE is presenting Lana to the audience. She is clearly overmatched and looks genuinely lost in the ring so why continue showcasing her lack of ability? Is Lana genuinely trying her best and simply coming up short or has this been the plan all along? Will repeated and demoralizing failure lead Lana to manage a stronger female wrestler or possibly go back into the company of Rusev? The latter doesn’t seem likely since Rusev is doing just fine on his own and the plan (for now) seems to showcase him as a singles wrestler with no need for a valet.

This means we must use the law of parsimony, more commonly referred to as “Occam’s Razor”. This problem-solving principle states that when we are presented with two explanations for a specific occurrence, the simpler one is usually correct. If you have to make too many assumptions, that relevant explanation becomes more unlikely. What this means for you and me is we have to consider the reality that Lana is simply a bad wrestler. Yes, C.J. Perry is working very hard and trying her best but her best is not even close to being good enough.