"It was almost sad to watch it, and I was there" - Wrestling legend feels WWE ruined Rusev (Exclusive)

Miro (fka Rusev in WWE) has done a commendable job rebuilding himself in AEW since being released from Vince McMahon's company in 2020.

During this week's episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell opened up on how WWE failed to make Rusev a major superstar. Mantell worked with WWE when Rusev rose through the cards as a good heel, and the veteran was saddened to see the superstar's steep downfall.

Dutch Mantell revealed that WWE officials didn't know how to utilize the Bulgarian wrestler and took away all of the superstar's heat that he had with the crowd.

The former manager stated that he pitched a plan for Jack Swagger to have a program with Rusev, and he even revealed the officials' surprising reaction to the idea:

"They screwed him (Rusev) all up! They took all the heat away from him. I mean, it was almost sad to watch it when I was there. They didn't know what to do with him, and I told them one day, and I'd actually got me and Jack (Swagger) two extra pay-per-views. I said, 'Why don't you put the All-American against the Russian?" pitched Dutch Mantell. "Like, they'd never thought of that before. What is more predictable than the Americans and the Russians going head to head and they went, 'Wow, that's a good idea.'" [55:50 - 56:42]

Dutch Mantell on his proposed WWE storyline for Rusev

Dutch Mantell informed producer Jamie Noble about the possibility of Rusev feuding with Jack Swagger (Jake Hager).

The oft-repeated Russia vs. USA narrative has been a staple offering in professional wrestling for a long time, and Dutch Mantell was stunned that WWE had not even considered booking Rusev to feud with an All-American character.

"I gave it to Jamie Noble, and he said, 'I might suggest that at the creative meeting.' As soon as I got there, he came up to me and said they loved it. We're going to start it tonight," recalled Mantell. "And I said, 'Wait a minute? You hadn't thought of that?' No! I said, 'The writers hadn't thought of it? No. The creative hadn't thought of it? I went, 'If you don't think of that, I don't know, it's a go-to angle! [56:43 - 57:15]

Rusev defeated Swagger at multiple events during their on-screen rivalry in 2014-15, and Mantell didn't oppose the creative as he was just following the boss' orders.

"We were still heels but babyfaces against him, and we never beat him! I said, 'Okay, whatever you want to do. It's your company, guys.' The only way I could have changed it was if I had four billion dollars and bought the company. [57:17 - 57:40]

Miro went on to have a dominant run with the TNT Championship in AEW with his acclaimed "Redeemer" gimmick. However, The Bulgarian Brute suffered an injury late last year and has been absent from AEW TV for several months. As of this writing, there is no definite timeframe regarding his return.

Do you also feel WWE ruined Rusev's run in the company? Sound off in the comments section below.

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