Lost in the hoopla of John Cena's 15th Title win and Seth Rollins winning the MITB briefcase last night is the fact that Rusev remains unbeaten in WWE competition, and he kept his streak in tact against an apt challenger in Big E. The match was hard hitting and showcased the athleticism and power of both men.
Rusev is being build using a familiar WWE formula. Large, dominant, often non-English speaking foreign heel. Obnoxious manager who is the only one who can control him. A string of victories starting off with no names, then to jobber former stars, then to former mid-card champions, next to the main eventers. In the 90's, it was done extremely well with the likes of Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, heck, even Kamala to an extent. Eventually, though, someone steps up to the challenge, defends America, and beats the unbeatable.
For me, the most memorable moment was when Yokozuna was dominating the WWF and was a 2-time reigning WWF Champion. He had squashed Hulk Hogan, who had shockingly failed to body slam the sumo champion. Yokozuna's managers, Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette, laid down a challenge - on board the Intrepid on the 4th of July, all comers could enter for a shot at body slamming the big man. Nobody could. (I had my money on Crush, by the way.)
And then the helicopter arrived, landed, and out walked Lex Luger. The crowd ate it up as Lex shoved his former friend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan aside. It was the voiceless babyface turn. Luger lined up, hit Yokozuna with his bionic elbow, and slammed the big man as the crowd went NUTS in a sea of patriotism. It took Lex Luger from a fairly unenviable spot in WWF and launched him into a main eventer for the next couple years.
Flash forward 21 years. Rusev is being built in much the same way, only instead of just a bodyslam, we're looking for someone to defeat the big man. Expectations have been The Big Show (snore) or John Cena. I've seen that movie before. It was ok. I don't wanna see the sequel.
The man who should defeat Rusev is Ryback.
Ryback came into WWE with a world of potential and was immediately placed in a dominant role. His "Feed Me More" chant was over with the crowd, and he was the babyface who truly did launch "The Shield." He absolutely has the power to match with Rusev. Ryback also has something guys like Big Show and Mark Henry do not have - youth on his side. Ryback is 31. Show is 42. Henry is 43.
Ryback's role as the savior to Curtis Axel's career is coming to a close and I don't expect the team to hang around any longer. Ryback's face turn could happen at the drop of a hat, and if Rusev and Lana are in the ring, taunting the US (imagine if it's following a World Cup loss in a big city) and issuing an open challenge, the sound of "Feed Me More" over the loudspeaker and the following Ryback entrance theme being played would light the night up:
It wouldn't need to happen that night, mind you, but a build to Summer Slam would be enticing at the very least. Ryback in a red, white, and blue singlet waving the American Flag would turn the character completely upside down and give Rusev a true challenge - both men would benefit from the match.
Feed Ryback...Rusev.
Rusev is being build using a familiar WWE formula. Large, dominant, often non-English speaking foreign heel. Obnoxious manager who is the only one who can control him. A string of victories starting off with no names, then to jobber former stars, then to former mid-card champions, next to the main eventers. In the 90's, it was done extremely well with the likes of Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, heck, even Kamala to an extent. Eventually, though, someone steps up to the challenge, defends America, and beats the unbeatable.
For me, the most memorable moment was when Yokozuna was dominating the WWF and was a 2-time reigning WWF Champion. He had squashed Hulk Hogan, who had shockingly failed to body slam the sumo champion. Yokozuna's managers, Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette, laid down a challenge - on board the Intrepid on the 4th of July, all comers could enter for a shot at body slamming the big man. Nobody could. (I had my money on Crush, by the way.)
And then the helicopter arrived, landed, and out walked Lex Luger. The crowd ate it up as Lex shoved his former friend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan aside. It was the voiceless babyface turn. Luger lined up, hit Yokozuna with his bionic elbow, and slammed the big man as the crowd went NUTS in a sea of patriotism. It took Lex Luger from a fairly unenviable spot in WWF and launched him into a main eventer for the next couple years.
Flash forward 21 years. Rusev is being built in much the same way, only instead of just a bodyslam, we're looking for someone to defeat the big man. Expectations have been The Big Show (snore) or John Cena. I've seen that movie before. It was ok. I don't wanna see the sequel.
The man who should defeat Rusev is Ryback.
Ryback came into WWE with a world of potential and was immediately placed in a dominant role. His "Feed Me More" chant was over with the crowd, and he was the babyface who truly did launch "The Shield." He absolutely has the power to match with Rusev. Ryback also has something guys like Big Show and Mark Henry do not have - youth on his side. Ryback is 31. Show is 42. Henry is 43.
Ryback's role as the savior to Curtis Axel's career is coming to a close and I don't expect the team to hang around any longer. Ryback's face turn could happen at the drop of a hat, and if Rusev and Lana are in the ring, taunting the US (imagine if it's following a World Cup loss in a big city) and issuing an open challenge, the sound of "Feed Me More" over the loudspeaker and the following Ryback entrance theme being played would light the night up:
It wouldn't need to happen that night, mind you, but a build to Summer Slam would be enticing at the very least. Ryback in a red, white, and blue singlet waving the American Flag would turn the character completely upside down and give Rusev a true challenge - both men would benefit from the match.
Feed Ryback...Rusev.
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