WWE: Aiden English Is Ready To Complete The Cinderella Story

When Aiden English and Rusev were paired up together near the end of 2017, few could have predicted the immense amount of success they’d have over the next several months. Much of the praise is rightfully sent to Rusev, who headlines the “Rusev Day” act, but lately we’re seeing English truly earn The Bulgarian George Clooney’s respect. Hopefully the fans are doing the same for English, as Rusev Day prepares for another charge at the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

Last month at this time, it looked like Rusev Day was headed for an ugly break-up. Although Aiden English has always intended to do what’s best for his friend, he ended up costing Lana and Rusev in their mixed tag team matches or singles matches against Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega. None of this was his fault, but Rusev and Lana would admonish the “Shakespeare of Song” for interfering instead of letting them handle business.

From the outside looking in, some wondered if Rusev saw English as dead weight. With Lana becoming more prominent as an on-screen character, it seemed as if Lana and Rusev were prepared to join forces again.

Instead, a combination of two things happened. English’s help ended up benefiting Rusev, and Plovdiv’s hero started to realize that English is still as valuable to “Rusev Day” as he always was.

Thanks to English’s behind-the-scenes work, he and Rusev have an opportunity to compete for The New Day’s SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Last night, The Bar defeated The Club and The Colons in Triple Threat action, so the winner of next week’s match fought among The Usos, Sanity, and Rusev Day will face Sheamus and Cesaro. And the winner of The Bar vs. TBD will get their crack at The New Day.

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Even though Rusev and English have been together for nearly a year, they’ve only had one opportunity at the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. That was back in December at Clash of Champions, when they lost in a Fatal Four-Way match that also included Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable, The New Day, and the retaining Usos.

Back then, English and Rusev were only a few months into their partnership, and while they were white-hot, they weren’t at their peak. So even though it would have been awesome to see them grab the tag team titles, simply nobody was on the Usos’ level at the time. I mean, how could a newly formed tag team defeat one of the most electric and in-sync tag teams of all-time?

However, now that Rusev has shown that he does trust English, this is a big step forward for Rusev Day as a tag team. These two have seen a lot over the past few months, and with Lana in the fold, this tag team now has a secret weapon to go with their big star, Rusev, and their unsung hero, English.

When English teamed up with Rusev, he was seen as an accessory piece whom Rusev could just toss aside once creative felt the jig was up. But English won the crowd over with his comedic timing, acting, singing, quick wit, solid in-ring work, and on-screen chemistry with his partner. English is a huge part of Rusev Day, and he is the Cinderella story.

So Rusev Day’s quest for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships is somewhat of a redemption story for them, because they came up short in December and never really got that second chance since. They didn’t have as much focus in going after the titles, with Rusev feuding against other superstars. But now there’s a renewed desire to push for tag team gold, since Rusev and English fought past their problems to forge an even stronger bond.

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In the middle of all that is English and his persistence. The slow-burn babyface turn for Rusev Day is complete, and the unlikely hero, English, can complete the redemption arc by playing a pivotal role in Rusev Day taking the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. They’ll have to run through a gauntlet of Sanity/The Usos and then the The Bar and finally The New Day, but if they can pull it off, we’ll get to see the happiest Rusev Day celebration of them all.