With Rusev being welcomed back with open arms on this past Monday Night Raw, here are five feuds that can be used to put him right back into the mix on the WWE roster.
On Monday, the WWE Universe was presented with a welcome return when Rusev walked through the curtain during the Maria Kanellis segment.
While we can hope he’s not planned to be a long-term aspect to that storyline, Rusev is a face that fans and wrestling pundits were excited to see back. The former three-time United States champion has been off television for majority of 2019. The reasoning behind his absence changes according to source, but the overall response is the same: he was missed.
Now that Rusev is back on television, one must wonder who he may be paired against in the future.
With WWE heading in a direction that shows they are attempting to improve their content as they prepare for the newest competitor; Rusev has the potential to stand out on an already packed roster. There are several men he can be paired against, and these five individuals are poised to give the “Bulgarian Brute” a run as foils in the coming weeks to months.
Thankfully, keeping Rusev off television creates a space where WWE creative can develop fresh storylines around the competitor. WWE fans have opined for creative to give them unique looks at the characters that they enjoy, and these five feuds would insert Rusev right back into the main roster picture against foes he hasn’t faced in these ways.
Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe is one of the most valuable veterans on the WWE roster. Even though his run in WWE has left much to be desired, those that are familiar with Joe’s career know that he can be a main event level character at any moment.
One doesn’t have to look all the way back as his time in TNA/Impact or as a part of Ring of Honor; just look back to his angle with Brock Lesnar. During that time, he presented himself as a viable threat to the former WWE and UFC champion. Even though he took the loss, there was a rising push for him to take the title off Lesnar and be the focal point of Monday Night Raw.
Imagine the work that Joe and Rusev could do when paired against each other. This feud would have the potential for some hard-hitting matches, that could deliver as undercard fodder.
Even though he should be a part of the main event picture, Joe has been kept in the middle of the pack. This is the type of feud that could elevate both he and Rusev, even though it would be hard to pick who would go over at the final moment.
Samoa Joe versus Rusev would be the perfect feud to keep both men busy until an opportunity would arise to push either into a more prominent feud. Joe and Rusev have the potential to be major names on the roster; entrenched within the main event picture.
While that may not be in the cards right this moment, putting them against each other creates a space where they can remain active and contribute to the entertainment of fans.
Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens is one of the most intriguing characters on WWE television in this generation.
When he joined the organization in 2014 after successful runs in PWG, ROH and other places; KO was a name that fans were looking forward to seeing. And succeed was exactly what he did; securing the NXT title and defeating John Cena clean when he debuted on Raw.
Owens is a model of how NXT wrestlers should have been presented when they were “called up” to the main roster. Now, he’s involved in a major storyline with Shane McMahon, and that could open the door to involvement with Rusev as a major foil.
Now, Rusev deserves some form of spotlight as his own figure; and putting him as the sidekick to Shane can hinder him the same way it has Elias and Drew McIntyre. But, if we were able to get an extended feud between Owens and Rusev, that would be entertaining to all the fans involved.
This is the type of feud that would bring out Rusev’s ability to have great matches. He’s shown flashes of improvement, even though he hasn’t been in the position to have extended matches during recent runs.
Against Owens, he would have the opportunity to show that he can do much more than power moves and involve some of the technical aspects that Owens has become known for delivering.
One of the great pieces of fantasy booking is building matches that bring out different aspects of the names involved, and this pairing with Kevin Owens would do just that for Rusev.
Aleister Black
Aleister Black was an exciting member of the NXT roster, but hasn’t been featured much since his call up to the main roster in February of this year. He’s one of the many performers that have fallen off the map, and a key example of how some talent is being misused.
There was some excitement around the match that he had with Cesaro at Extreme Rules and they delivered with an intense, hard hitting match. After that, Black did exactly what he didn’t want to do, and he faded into the background.
With Rusev’s return, it would be interesting if these two were set on a path against each other in the ring.
This is yet another mid card feud that could build both men, even though one of them would have to go over in the end.
One great thing about the end of the Wild Card rule and the upcoming draft is that new angles can be built once the rosters are solidified. Black and Rusev do not need a major storyline around them to begin, but WWE Creative could build this rivalry out of pure competition; much like the Booker T versus Chris Benoit series from decades ago that elevated both men on the WCW roster.
Rusev versus Black is a hard-hitting affair. On one side there’s Black’s striking-first style against a grappler of sorts in Rusev. The in-ring work between the two would be a good change of pace from who they’ve been booked with in the past, and that could create some strong performances from both men.
Also, Rusev’s ability to get his character is not underrated, but has been under-appreciated within the WWE; clearly seen within his de-push as he got the phrase “Rusev Day” over to huge proportions back in 2017 through 2018. Black has struggled to get over as a character, and there’s an opportunity to work on that by booking him against Rusev at this time.
Chad Gable
Chad Gable is another individual who was forgotten about on the main roster. Even though he’s on a short list of men who have held the tag team titles on all three brands, there isn’t much to talk about when thinking about Gable’s run beyond NXT.
After the feud with Baron Corbin runs its course, Rusev versus Gable would be another opportunity to get some shine on both men.
Rusev has been paired against smaller wrestlers in the past, but none of them are the type of grappler that Gable has shown to be.
Gable may be of cruiserweight stature, but he doesn’t employ any of the high-flying antics that division is known for. Instead, his ground centric style is just as exciting to watch, especially when he hits moves like his rolling, delayed German suplex – a move that he has hit on Rusev in the past in a tag team battle.
Their time together has been brief, but with the roster split coming, there’s a chance to fix this and get these two men together in the ring soon.
While it’s not the greatest storyline or angle, WWE Creative can continue to push the narrative of Gable being the smaller fighter and having to fight against the bigger men to succeed. There’s a huge size difference between the two, and while that wouldn’t hinder their ability to entertain between the ropes; it is a narrative that the WWE is known to push quite frequently.
One would expect Gable to go over in the end, but there is value in putting on great matches, which is what they could do together. Rusev is currently a mid-card player in the WWE, and this is the type of match that can continue to build both men in the correct fashion.
Buddy Murphy
What has happened to Buddy Murphy?
After two great matches with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, the “Best Kept Secret” is back to being just that – a secret. He lost a first-round matchup to Mustafa Ali, and is off television.
When the momentum seemed to be behind Murphy, the WWE Universe was poised to lift him up and wrestling pundits were lauding his work. But, for some reason WWE decided to push him back to catering and keep him off television. That situation can be remedied by placing him against Rusev, and allowing these two to put on a great program.
Rusev could be the challenge that’s needed to get Murphy back into the upper echelon of the WWE roster. The idea would be that while Rusev was away all he heard about was this “secret” that is Murphy, and now he’s back to see what it’s all about. Again, every storyline that is presented in professional wrestling doesn’t need to involve some convoluted tale. Instead, the men and women on the roster can be locked in competition with the goal of being the best as the driver.
That is the way that Murphy versus Rusev should be presented to the public.
What would make this series interesting is that they would be able to mix in a variety of power and fast paced wrestling. Murphy has shown that he’s willing to match power with anyone, and while that wouldn’t work against Rusev, it would be fun to watch him try. The same would be said about Rusev, who has shown that he can pull off athletic moves when he desires.
The mix between these two men would keep fans entertained from start to finish.