WWE SmackDown Winners and Losers: A Stacked Tag Division

Loser: Rusev

Considering how great of a show SmackDown was on Tuesday, labeling Rusev as a loser is more of a consequence of not being involved in the main event’s storyline. Tuesday night’s episode began with AJ Styles running down Nakamura’s cowardly acts from last week only to get interrupted by Aiden English and Rusev. This led to a “match” that ended quickly after interference by English. Daniel Bryan came out to make the save. Then, Paige announced that there would be a main event match between Bryan and AJ vs. Rusev and English.

The main event was a decent match but nothing groundbreaking. It is still surreal to watch Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles compete as a team on SmackDown. The end of the match saw another low blow delivered by Shinsuke Nakamura to Styles. This was followed by a returning Big Cass hitting Daniel Bryan with a stiff boot to cause a disqualification.

Notice that above match description, nowhere does it mention what Rusev did in the match. Rusev and English were a means to an end and filled in the role that the show needed them to fill. Rusev Day chants blared throughout the arena early in the night and during the match but he was not featured to the extent of someone who is facing the Undertaker in a Casket Match next week. For such a monumental match, the negligence on WWE’s part is questionable as this type of match can give him greater international exposure on what is shaping up to be a massive event.