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What's the story?
This past week on SmackDown Live, we saw Lana return to her husband's side once again, to a rousing cheer from the fans in Montreal.
On returning, Lana implied to Rusev that the songbird of Rusev Day, Aiden English might actually be holding him back. Now, veteran journalist Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer has speculated the possible reason behind WWE considering breaking up Rusev Day (H/T Ringside News).
In case you didn’t know…
Aiden English was part of the tag team Vaudevillians alongside Simon Gotch, but the tag team was forced to break up after Gotch was released by WWE. After Rusev was traded to SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shakeup 2017, WWE decided to pair up the unlikely duo.
What initially started as a heelish claim by Rusev that "every day is Rusev Day", has become a sensation of sorts a year later. Rusev Day chants have been echoing across arenas all over the world and the WWE Universe is completely behind The Bulgarian Brute. But, on last week's episode of SmackDown, WWE seemingly teased breaking up the popular team.
The heart of the matter
However, as popular as Rusev might be, the popularity is yet to translate into any windfall in the form of a title run or a big push for the former US Champion.
According to Meltzer, WWE considers English and Rusev as a mid-card level tag team. However, there is no indication that they are in line for a run with the SmackDown Tag Titles, as WWE would have already given them the titles if that was indeed the plan.
Because of the chemistry between Rusev and Lana and how well they work as a team, WWE feels that they might be a better fit than Rusev Day for a main event run. So, Rusev Day breaking up might not be bad news for The Bulgarian Brute, as he could be in for a huge push as the top heel after the split.
What's next?
Rusev has proved that he is more than capable of being the top heel of a brand. The fans are certainly behind him and a main event push has been long overdue for the Bulgarian Brute.
For Aiden English though, this might spell bad news. Hopefully, WWE will find another storyline for the former Vaudevillian.
Author's take
The next few weeks will hopefully see Rusev transition into a main event star and though it might be a long shot, a WWE Championship feud around SummerSlam might not be completely off the table.
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