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Honestly, Is Rusev Even That Great?

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WWE Rusev Entrance

The Bulgarian Brute has fallen down the ranks a bit in the past month. At Extreme Rules in July, Rusev was in Smackdown’s main event match. It was Rusev’s first ever world championship match in WWE, and his first taste of the main event of a PPV.

Fast forward a month later, and he is slated to be on the SummerSlam kickoff show in a mixed tag team match with Lana against Zelina Vega and Andrade Cien Almas. Although Cien and Vega are fantastic talents, facing emerging talent is typically a demotion of some sort.

Many are sad to see that Rusev is not utilized as a consistent main event player on Smackdown, but (get your boos ready) I’m not really sure that he’s good enough to warrant it.

Rusev’s Positioning

Rusev Day is a fun gimmick, and WWE lost out by not pushing Rusev when the gimmick was at its height: true statement. If anyone should’ve been given a chance with a world championship, it should have been him instead of Jinder Mahal: true statement. He is great on the mic and is ready to be a top player in the company: now that’s where I’m not sure.

I truly believe he is a great competitor. I believe he has in ring skill that rivals almost anyone in the WWE and I think he has a wealth of potential. However, there aren’t many other aspects of his character that really allow for a connection.

Extremes & Promos

To be fair, WWE has not given Rusev enough for him to soar. However, I was really looking to him to push the envelope and try something different in his first world title feud. His program against AJ Styles was rather forgettable. The match at Extreme Rules was very well done, but the build really left a lot to be desired.

For one thing, most of the feud centered around Aiden English. I can understand that he’s a part of the whole Rusev schtick, but the he never really broke out here as I thought he would. English kept getting floored by Styles and Rusev never followed up with an impactful promo to get everyone invested in the feud. This was a combination of WWE’s mishandling of Rusev’s heel/face dynamic, and Rusev not letting his character loose and breaking boundaries in his processes.

From that feud, I really learned that Rusev’s promo delivery does not match his gimmick. He is quite calm and collected when he goes through a promo, which is sleep inducing to me. The Rusev Day chants and Aiden English are really all he has to get the crowd riled up. I don’t think I’ve ever been impressed by anything he has done on his own besides the first Rusev Day celebration segment.

Conclusion

I would love for Rusev to be one of the greats, but as of now he’s really not. A chant does not replace character and personality- that goes for both WWE and Rusev on their creative directions. Sometimes it’s a vicious cycle where a competitor wants opportunities, but WWE simply doesn’t invest enough in them to see what they can do. The result of this program with him was bland on both sides.

Am I mad that Rusev is on the SummerSlam kickoff? Yes. To go from WWE title match to the kickoff show is ridiculous, but there was no fire from him during that world title feud. There was nothing drawing me to him, and I was only drawn to Rusev Day.

WWE has to step their game up, but so does Rusev. If he wants to be one of the top guys, he has to start taking chances and really playing his character the way he believes he should be portrayed if he wants any shot at the world title again.

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Opinion

Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?

Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…

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Brock Lesnar WWE WrestleMania 42 Retirement

Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…

At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. 

While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania. 

‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman? 

I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!

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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


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Opinion

Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!

With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!

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Penta WWE Intercontinental Championship WrestleMania 42

With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!

This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month. 

Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while. 

The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev. 

All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet. 

As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!

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SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


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