Opinion: Why is WWE forcing Rusev to be a heel?

Every week on SmackDown Live, every SmackDown Live PPV and for shows such as WrestleMania, the "Rusev Day" chants echo throughout the building, with the WWE Universe cheering The Bulgarian Brute on.

The first "Rusev Day" chants started at Clash Of Champions in a tag title match, where Rusev teamed with Aiden English in an incredible Fatal-4-Way match. When Rusev and English entered the ring, the crowd erupted with Rusev Day chants, and you could clearly see the elation on Rusev's face and you could also see him feeding off the energy.

The entire "Rusev Day" schtick started off as a one-time thing when Rusev unceremoniously defeated Randy Orton in an 11-second match (after Orton had already competed in a match). However, it stuck and it organically made Rusev a huge babyface in the eyes of the fans. With him organically getting over with the audience, wasn't it time to turn him babyface?

Apparently not, in the eyes of the WWE brass. Week after week, Rusev's popularity continued to increase. His Rusev Day shirt became the highest selling merchandise in the entire WWE Shop and Rusev Day calenders unsurprisingly sold like hot cakes.

Crowd reactions on television, live events and merchandise sales seem to evidently suggest that there is money in The Bulgarian Brute as a babyface. However, WWE have persisted in keeping Rusev and Aiden English as heels, making them face fan-favorite babyfaces (such as AJ Styles and then, Shinsuke Nakamura) and also portray their characters as cowards in stereotypical pro wrestling fashion.

Rusev himself has stated in an interview that when he arrived in WWE, his goal was to change the perception of foreigners in the company. For decades, a foreigner in WWE automatically meant that they must be an anti-American heel. And for years, that is exactly what Rusev's character was based around. Thankfully, his character, and even Jinder Mahal's to an extent, has slowly phased away from having their entire gimmick be an Anti-American.

When Rusev was added to the United States Championship match at WrestleMania, it was reported that he was added due to his high merchandise sales. Despite having Superstars such as Bobby Roode, Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal, Rusev was undoubtedly the most popular among all the four, and there was hope among fans that WWE would finally be pulling the trigger on The Bulgarian Brute. However, the reality was the complete opposite, and there was a feeling that Rusev was simply added to the match to take the pin.

With a vast population being on social media, seeing Rusev out of character is very easy as well. Whether it's on Total Divas or UpUpDownDown on YouTube, seeing Rusev out of character further insinuates the fact that he's a funny, entertaining and naturally likable person. With this in mind, it naturally makes his character more likable as well.

Perhaps WWE has their own logic as to why Rusev was kept heel. Maybe prior to WrestleMania, SmackDown Live had very few heels. Some might even argue that WWE is purposely keeping Rusev heel because he got over more than they expected or wanted him to. Zack Ryder is the perfect example of a Superstar who got over organically but was pushed down because he became way more popular than WWE anticipated him to get. It may not necessarily be true but it's a very big possibility.

However, after the Superstar Shake-Up, huge names such as Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz and Big Cass (among others) are on the heel side. With a need of more babyfaces, isn't it finally time for WWE to pull the trigger and turn him (and Aiden English, who has been instrumental in helping Rusev's popularity) babyface?

That's the beauty of pro wrestling. You never know what's going to click. No one expected "Rusev Day" to get over so organically, but it did. Give it a chance WWE, for the sake of your fans!

Happy Rusev Day!

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