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Rusev won a huge gauntlet match last week on SmackDown Live to become the new number one contender to the WWE Championship before AJ Styles made his way to the ring and the duo had a staredown which ended with The Champion striking Aiden English.
The gauntlet match included the likes of Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, The Miz and Big E as well as Rusev, so there were many fans who weren't convinced that it would be the Bulgarian Brute who would pick up the victory and are even more unsure about his chances against Styles.
AJ is the face of the SmackDown Live brand and after four hard-fought matches with Nakamura, it makes sense that WWE has finally decided to change direction. Despite his popularity, does Rusev actually stand a chance against The Champion?
Brad Shepard of Bodyslam.net even stated on the most recent episode of Backstage in WWE, that he didn't think this would lead to the first World Championship reign for Rusev.
“He’s not going to win but it’s a nice little thing to do it’s something different and gives the fans who like Rusev something important. Shepard said via Ringsidenews. So it’s a cool little for them to do and you know it’s fine. It should be fun. It’s different and it’s not AJ vs Nakamura again because we’re all tired of that.”
Rusev's alliance with Aiden English in recent months has led to him being one of the most popular stars in the company before Rusev Day was then joined by Lana ahead of Money in the Bank. It is unknown if this is the way that WWE will break English and Rusev apart so that the Bulgarian star can become more of a heel, but he still isn't expected to be the man who dethrones AJ Styles at Extreme Rules.
Would you like to see Rusev as the WWE Champion?
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