“Rusev Day” has taken the WWE Universe by a storm, and management simply could not ignore the raucous reactions from the crowd. Rusev has been inserted into the United States Championship match at WrestleMania 34, but don’t forget about the man by his side, Aiden English.
When Rusev and Aiden English were paired together, the duo were supposed to be a comedy act. Clearly, SmackDown Live didn’t have anything planned for Rusev, even though he once called out Shane McMahon, asking for an opportunity at former tag team partner Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship at Money in the Bank.
Instead, he and English formed a tag team that quickly became the hottest act in the WWE, selling ludicrous amounts of merchandise. The “Rusev Day” gimmick blossomed thanks to the genius of these two men, though nobody who has followed Rusev’s career closely was surprised that he was able to create a brilliant gimmick out of nothing.
English’s quiet rise alongside Rusev has been a little bit more surprising, but Rusev certainly hasn’t forgotten how instrumental the “Shakespeare of Song” has been in making “Rusev Day” the phenomenon that it is today.
The Indian Express relayed the following quote from Rusev on English in a conference call (hat tip to WrestlingInc.com).
"“He’s a blessing in disguise. He is so good, so talented- he is on another level. When were put together it was supposed to be a joke but they gave us lemons and we turned into lemonade (laughs).”"
English has done such a great job of getting more heat on Rusev and promoting Rusev. Who can resist his angelic voice crooning “Rusev Day”? Who can ignore his fantastically pompous outfits? Oh, and he has one of the most underrated physiques in WWE (just look at his triceps).
But more importantly than all the superficial stuff, English carved out an opportunity of his own alongside Rusev. He could have easily been another joke character, but he took this chance to play off of Rusev and ran with it. The chemistry between them is obvious, and it seems like ages ago when English was floundering as Simon Gotch’s tag team partner in a dead-in-the-water gimmick.
Next: Ranking All Of The Undertaker's WrestleMania Matches
In about a week, English will be in Rusev’s corner at RusevMania, and we’ll see if the Bulgarian George Clooney can recapture the United States Championship from the man who embarrassed him at SummerSlam.