What’s the story?
SmackDown Superstar Rusev, who had been sidelined by an injury for the past few months, finally made his in-ring return at a WWE Live Event in Vancouver, Canada last night (24th June 2017).
In case you didn’t know...
The Bulgarian Brute Rusev took a hiatus from the WWE because he had to undergo a surgical procedure to address a nagging shoulder injury. His last WWE TV appearance in an actual match was at Fastlane 2017, where he was quickly defeated by the Big Show.
Rusev was drafted from RAW to SmackDown during the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up. After the draft, he made an on-air appearance at SmackDown LIVE and sent out a message to Shane McMahon. Rusev stated that he would only debut on SmackDown LIVE if he were given a title shot at the Money In The Bank PPV.
Even though Rusev seemed set to enter the title picture, plans were reportedly changed, and the Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal feud was extended. Rusev was then reported to be backstage on the 20th June 2017 edition of SmackDown LIVE but wasn’t used in any capacity during the event.
The heart of the matter
Rusev returned to action at WWE’s 24th June 2017 SmackDown exclusive Live Event in Vancouver, Canada. In his first in-ring appearance since his hiatus, Rusev faced off against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat match for the United States Championship.
Rusev was not accompanied by Lana at the event and was seen supporting the same short hairstyle that he got shortly before his hiatus. The hairstyle change was initially rumoured to have landed Rusev a lot of heat backstage.
Also read: 5 facts you should know about Rusev
The match between Rusev, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens was a back-and-forth one, with Rusev briefly teaming up with Kevin Owens to take on Sami Zayn. The result of the match didn’t come out favourably for Rusev, however, as Kevin Owens successfully defended his US Championship.
What’s next?
With rumours of Rusev possibly being inserted in a United States Championship feud, the booking of his Live Event appearance certainly makes a lot of sense. Rusev is probably going to make an appearance on the 27th June 2017 edition of SmackDown LIVE as his return to WWE TV is imminent at this point.
Author’s take
It is great to see Rusev back in action, and a feud for the United States Championship would be absolutely perfect for him at this point. Now that Lana has left him, Rusev will have to do most of his talking by himself, which will certainly allow him to explore his own talents a bit further.
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