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Who Will Defeat Rusev?

By @nickmarsico

Rusev - WWE Universe Facebook

Rusev – WWE Universe Facebook

This past Monday night on the WWE Network following RAW, Rusev defeated Sheamus in a very good match to win his first title in WWE, a very fitting victory to gain the United States Championship. Before I bog everything down with Sheamus talk again, I’ll get it out of the way early — this is a perfect time for Sheamus to finally turn heel. WWE could have him challenge Rusev to a rematch and lose either via pinfall or submission — not by passing out like on Monday — and then have him turn and maybe even join The Authority for Survivor Series.

That all aside, we’re here to talk about Rusev. The man is very impressive in the ring, likely to the surprise of many. I would surmise that most people probably saw him as just another big guy who would be carried through average-at-best matches until being fed to John Cena and forever landing in the massive pool of go-nowhere mid-carders. That isn’t the case, however, and Rusev has been able to have good matches with everybody he has been put in the ring with, including some strong contests with both Mark Henry and The Big Show. His list of victories is impressive, but it’s tough to say where to go next, and what the end game will be — let’s explore.

First of all, once he’s done with Sheamus, I would have Jack Swagger come back out of the woodwork and make one final challenge to Rusev, this time with even more on the line. They could build it up like crazy, have it happen at TLC, but the end result stays the same — Molten hot crowd, brutal match, Rusev crush. I don’t know the deal with Big E and Kofi Kingston now that it appears Xavier Woods may be moving on to something without them, but both guys would be formidable opponents to put up fights against. They would ultimately lose to Rusev, though. I know Big E already had his shots, but he was the first guy to actually get some offense in on Rusev, which makes him challenging for a shot something I’d be very responsive to. Plus, Kofi is the perfect plucky underdog and his high-flying ability could make for some great fun against the hero of the Russian Federation.

On the thought of challenging for title shots, I like the idea of having Rusev and Lana claim their superiority over everyone, American and otherwise, and make it appear they are laying out an open challenge instead of actually making one. That way Rusev can look like a serious fighting champion by accepting every challenge thrown at him. It’s a very slight difference, but it would be effective. I’d also have Lana announce that going forward, every one of his matches will be contested with the US Title on the line. That is what confidence and dominance are all about.

Finally, give Ryback the distinction of being the guy that ends the dominant run. I wouldn’t throw a fit if they ran with Cena vs. Rusev at WrestleMania and let Cena be the big American hero, but it would be best for all parties if it was Ryback. That way he can get the stink of being a choke artist off of him once and for all, and Rusev may have his first real rival; a guy that can meet him again when they (hopefully) are higher up on the card. They can trade the belt once or twice even, just to give them both a solid rivalry and help them get more over instead of sacrificing one man for the sake of getting the other over.

That’s what I would do, at least.

Nicholas A. Marsico is a pro wrestling writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter and Like him on Facebook!

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