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What's the story?
Rusev's ten-second loss at the hands of Randy Orton at Summerslam coupled with the online reports of Rusev and Lana asking for their WWE release could easily persuade one to believe that the former United States Champion is quite far from the creative's good books.
However, in the recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer revealed that the decision to put Orton over Rusev in such short time into the match was not at all influenced by any sort of heat on the Bulgarian native.
In case you didn't know...
Randy Orton faced Rusev at Summerslam and defeated him in a mere ten seconds.
"The Bulgarian Brute" caught "The Viper" off guard before the match and tried to gain the upper hand by beating him around the ringside before their match. However, when the bell rang, it took only one RKO for Randy Orton to beat Rusev in the middle of the ring.
With this loss, Rusev has extended his PPV losing streak which had begun with a loss to Roman Reigns at 2016's Clash of Champions.
The heart of the matter
The source reports that the match at Summerslam was a way to commence the Rusev-Orton program as there was minimal storyline between them, heading into the PPV.
The source also stated that Orton was in dire need of a PPV win after his showings against Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal in the past. Meltzer noted that the booking was "a major pro-Orton decision" rather than an "anti-Rusev" decision.
What's next?
Meltzer mentioned that though there was no follow up to the Orton-Rusev feud on the recent edition of the Smackdown LIVE, it is going to be the way forward for "The Viper" and "The Bulgarian Brute".
Author's Take
Summerslam's card was stacked and one of the matches had to be cut short to make time for other matches. In my opinion, sacrificing the time of Rusev-Orton match was a great decision as it did not have a strong story heading into "The Biggest Party of Summer ". It also served as a basis for developing the feud further.
Rusev's feud with Orton could exactly be the stepping stone that the Bulgarian native has been seeking to ascend to the main event scene of Smackdown LIVE.
