What's the story?
As reported by WrestlingInc, Rusev is set for an extended absence from WWE television after undergoing surgery for an injured shoulder. The Bulgarian Brute was supposedly written off of TV with his one-sided defeat at the hands of The Big Show at WWE Fastlane.
In case you didn't know
Rusev has been on something of a downward slope for well over a year now, with his stock continuing to plummet despite a brief attempt by WWE to re-build him as the United States Champion.
Also read: WWE News: Chris Jericho and Rusev’s Twitter feud escalates
Unfortunately, that was done mainly to feed the title over to Roman Reigns and Rusev once again fell into a state of mid card mediocrity where he has been ever since.
The heart of the matter
The report, which originally came from F4WOnline, suggests that Rusev will indeed be out for an unknown period of time.
Nothing has been confirmed regarding his shoulder however it was Big Show himself who revealed the news to a fan. Apparently, he also said the following when asked why he squashed Rusev at Fastlane.
"He's having shoulder surgery and I put him over strong years ago."
What's next?
With WrestleMania 33 right around the corner, it seems extremely unlikely that Rusev will bounce back in time to make an appearance, which would likely just be a cameo in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal anyway.
Many fans will be hoping that upon his return he is able to re-capture some of the magic that made him so popular during his initial run back in 2014 and 2015.
Author's take
It's devastating to see Rusev out injured because he truly is one of the most well-rounded competitors in the WWE.
It's baffling that he hasn't been featured in the world title picture during his career so far and upon his return, we're hopeful that WWE will see the error of their ways and once again build him up as the monster heel that he deserves to be.
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