Okay, the Rusev the cheater storyline with Lana is currently the worst WWE could run. Funny thing is, there was a time when this wasn’t a tired gimmick, a time when fans were fully invested in what the WWE had to offer. Now, it’s a sign of how far the mighty king has fallen.
Remember, not too long ago we had the R-Rated Superstar (Edge) in bed in the ring with Lita. Of course, Edge and Lita’s charisma and fan love made it possible. We cared that she and Matt Hardy split. We cared that two of or favorites were together.
We cared because they made us care, not WWE creative and certainly not Vince McMahon. Edge and Lita were beloved superstars.
Where am I going with this? Glad you asked.
This storyline is in need of major saving or scrapping, depending on your point of view. Let’s go with the former.
Change the pace
Instead of the tired old poor (enter name here) face, how about we shake things up with Rusev coming out and saying, “You know what, Lana? I did cheat. You’re such an obnoxious, selfish (bleep) of a woman, I had to get out!”
That may be overboard, but it’d work and would probably blow the roof off the arena if Rusev really throws his passion into it.
Sure, some would look at Rusev as a heel, and others would hold up their “You should be ashamed role models for our children” signs, but most would love it. We’d love it simply because it’s something new, something we don’t get to see very often.
By God, we’d have an entertaining storyline in the vein of the best daytime soaps and reinforce professional wrestling as a men’s soap opera.
What’s wrong with that?
It’s what professional wrestling is, and we eat it up from the moment we’re introduced to it until we die. It’s fun escapism (or is supposed to be) where we can forget about our problems for a couple of hours a week.
What it comes down to is, if we hand over our hard earned cash, we deserve quality entertainment. Even if we don’t like what we see at the moment, there should be other segments that’ll grab us. “A little something for everyone” is the saying, so lets embrace it and soak it up for what it’s worth.
In the case of Rusev, he’s a great performer, but has been given garbage material.
Seth Rollins had a point in that it’s hard to be in that position and not have the fans like what they’re doing. There’s no arguing that point. They’re entertainers, but they can only do so much with the material they’re handed.
If we keep voting with our voices and dollars, something will have to change, right? Until then, we might as well enjoy Rusev the cheater and other half-baked storylines.
