WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways: Champ That Runs The Camp is Back

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4. Rusev Deserved a Spot on Team SmackDown

Rusev’s recent work alongside Aiden English has been a nice change of pace for the Bulgarian Brute over the past few weeks.  He still competes as the intimidating force he’s always portrayed, but the recent comedic layers to both him and English have been successful for both individuals.

Last night’s SmackDown was originally supposed to see Rusev battle AJ Styles with the winner going on to join Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, but it was changed to Rusev battling Randy Orton for a spot on Team SmackDown.  It was odd to see someone battle for a spot on Team SmackDown against someone that was already on the team, but it was even stranger to see the result.

After a so-so match, Orton hit Rusev with an RKO and picked up another win over the Bulgarian Brute.  It appears as if Rusev will not be on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.  If that’s the case, the WWE is doing Rusev wrong in this situation.

Rusev deserves a spot on Team SmackDown and having him lose to Orton yet again doesn’t do him any favors.  Team SmackDown is a team of solely babyfaces up to this point while Raw has babyfaces and heels on its team, so the blue brand needs a heel like Rusev on its team.

The Bulgarian Brute has done solid work in recent memory and he deserves a chance to shine in support of the biggest battle for brand supremacy the WWE universe will ever see.