WWE had something waiting for Rusev when he was ready to get back into the mix, but that plan didn’t survive his time on the sidelines. With Rusev still working his way back, the company has already moved ahead with someone else in the spot originally meant for him.
During a recent Q&A session, JoeyVotes and TC of WrestleVotes were talking about the tag match featuring Chad Gable and Dragon Lee against Big Cass and Ethan Page on RAW. JoeyVotes brought up the match while discussing what WWE has planned for the show.
“The tag match — Chad Gable and Dragon Lee taking on Big Cass and Ethan Page.”
That led TC to explain that WWE had actually been looking for someone to pair with Page, saying, “They wanted to find someone for Ethan Page — find a tag team partner for him.” Turns out, Big Cass wasn’t WWE’s first choice.
JoeyVotes revealed that the spot was originally supposed to go to Rusev. His injury situation ended up getting in the way, though, and WWE had to change things while he worked his way back.
“It was supposed to be Rusev. Rusev’s dealing with a little injury. He’s on his way back.”
TC then had a little fun with the situation, joking that if Page and Cass lose their match, everyone will know why Rusev wanted nothing to do with it.
“If Ethan Page and Big Cass lose, we know why Rusev didn’t wanna be in this match.”
So while Rusev is getting closer to being back in the mix, the direction WWE originally had waiting for him is apparently gone. Page has now been paired with Cass, and the two are moving forward together on RAW.
Rusev has at least gotten himself back inside a WWE ring. He wrestled Joe Hendry at the company’s October 16 live event in Honolulu, marking his first match in nearly three months. Hendry picked up the win, but Rusev simply being healthy enough to compete again was the bigger deal.
His time away started after the July 27 episode of RAW, when he landed awkwardly on his neck during a match against Je’Von Evans. Rusev experienced numbness in his hands but still managed to finish the match before quickly making his way backstage.
That exit caused some confusion at the time because people thought Rusev might have been pissed about losing to Evans. CJ Perry later shut that down, explaining that he was actually in considerable pain and wanted to get backstage so WWE’s medical team could check him out.
Things finally started looking better in September. Perry revealed that Rusev had been medically cleared and was heading back to the WWE Performance Center to train. He also planned on getting work in at Natalya’s Dungeon 2.0 because he wanted to be completely ready whenever WWE called him.
Now Page has Cass by his side, while Rusev is left waiting for whatever WWE comes up with next. He’s already wrestled his first match back, so the physical comeback has started — it’s the television comeback that still needs a new plan.
Do you think WWE will have something big waiting for Rusev when he finally gets back on television? What would you like to see him do next? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
