On Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast, Rusev opened up about his frustrations with WWE. A lot of the issues in Rusev’s handling over the years have been clear as day, which is a shame for such a talented performer.
One of WWE‘s most constant tropes over the years has been the “foreign heel”. Throw in Rusev’s use of the Camel Clutch—called “The Accolade”—and denouncement of America and it appeared to be a recipe for something the audience has seen countless times. However, Rusev was much different.
Rusev’s noteworthy agility—especially for a bruising heavyweight—and the perfect fit of Lana as his mouthpiece made him a recipe for success. His main roster debut at the 2014 Royal Rumble—albeit brief—left the audience with a strong first impression of the Bulgarian.
2014 would go on to be Rusev’s most dominant year to date. His undefeated streak saw him defeat former World champions Jack Swagger, Mark Henry and The Big Show in separate matches before toppling Sheamus to win the United States Championship in November.
Rusev’s sophomore appearance in the Royal Rumble match a couple months later further established him as a force in WWE. In addition to eliminating six competitors, he was the runner-up to Royal Rumble winner, Roman Reigns.
Despite getting a huge win over John Cena at Fastlane, Rusev’s undefeated streak and United States title reign would come to an end in a rematch at WrestleMania. While this loss didn’t destroy Rusev, a widely panned love angle with Lana, Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae—along with an uneventful stint in the equally uneventful League of Nations—noticeably diminished his notoriety.
To the credit of the “Bulgarian Brute”, he managed to re-establish himself as a threat by his second United States championship reign. Sadly, this was undone in the months afterwards. Following a streak of losses to Roman Reigns, a storyline in which Enzo Amore tried to ruin Rusev’s marriage saw the latter—for reasons still unclear—portrayed as the bad guy.
After a period of inactivity brought on by injury, Rusev made his return as a member of SmackDown and was immediately placed in losing scenarios against John Cena and Randy Orton. It was an unlikely pairing with Aiden English along with the concept of “Rusev Day” that marked yet another turning point in Rusev’s career.
English emerged as a stellar complementary mouthpiece for Rusev and the duo turned into one of the most popular—despite being villains—and entertaining acts on SmackDown. His run with English eventually turned the both of them into fan favorites and propelled him into a critically acclaimed WWE Championship match against AJ Styles in July of last year. Although Rusev lost, his performance gave hope that he would become a constant in SmackDown’s main event scene. Unfortunately, this has yet to come to pass.
English and Rusev were inexplicably split up a few months later, a move which the latter confirmed in Garcia’s podcast that he unsuccessfully fought to have overturned. A third United States title win briefly improved his prospects but he lost it only a month later.
Over the years, Rusev has worked hard to climb out of obscurity. He transitioned himself from being a raging brute to a beloved hero with a comically amazing social media presence. His personality gradually shined through to make him one of the most well-received wrestlers in WWE. What’s in store for Rusev is unclear as of this writing but hopefully, his next big break can turn him into a main event mainstay.