Kemo
05-30-2017, 06:31 PM
Rusev’s WWE return was directly affected by Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title win at Backlash over Randy Orton last week. Per a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, original plans had “The Bulgarian Brute” challenging for the WWE strap at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view.
The WWE never confirmed that match, however, they began to set it up after Rusev took to Twitter to demand SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon a shot at the WWE Title or else he’d leave the company. Rusev then vowed to return to Tuesday nights to confront McMahon, however, he never showed – stating he went to a hockey game instead. Rusev has not been mentioned on WWE programming since.
The late decision to hold Rusev off TV indicates that Mahal’s title win was also a late decision by the company that was most likely made the Friday before Backlash. Now creative is tasked with the job of finding a new way to introduce Rusev back to WWE TV.
The WWE never confirmed that match, however, they began to set it up after Rusev took to Twitter to demand SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon a shot at the WWE Title or else he’d leave the company. Rusev then vowed to return to Tuesday nights to confront McMahon, however, he never showed – stating he went to a hockey game instead. Rusev has not been mentioned on WWE programming since.
The late decision to hold Rusev off TV indicates that Mahal’s title win was also a late decision by the company that was most likely made the Friday before Backlash. Now creative is tasked with the job of finding a new way to introduce Rusev back to WWE TV.