STARS IN PROGRESS: Rusev Crushes the Rumble, El Patron Steps Up Post-WWE Career, Royal Rumble Triple Threat & This Week’s Top 5 Superstars

 STEP UP: Rusev

Rusev was one of the few guys that came out of the Royal Rumble match on Sunday that wasn’t hurt by WWE’s truly terrible booking of one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen. Until the moment he rolled out of the ring to hide – possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen a monster heel do – he looked like a legitimate contender to win that match. Not that he would have, but he made you believe he could. 

Rusev now steps into a program with John Cena. WWE has to be smart about this, or it’s going to completely ruin his momentum much like Bray Wyatt’s program did in 2014. That’s the problem with not giving a s*** that half your audience hates your biggest babyface – YOU CAN’T GET ANYONE ELSE OVER. 

Lana needs to remind us that we hate Rusev on a weekly bases. You can not give the fans a single moment to cheer for him. As much as I absolutely despise the stereotypical pro-American nationalism storyline, it’s the right direction to go with here. Don’t over-think it. That’s not something I would ever criticize WWE of doing under normal circumstances, but here it needs to be simple. 

If they really want Roman Reigns to be effective in a post-WrestleMania world as champion, Cena should do the job for Rusev at Fast Lane and again on March 29th. With two wins of Cena, Rusev will be ready for a title shot with all the heat in the world behind him. At that point, breaking his undefeated streak actually makes sense. 

Here are some other things to work on: 

1. USE THE US TITLE: Either utilize the fact that a super Russian heel is your U.S. champion, or get the belt off him. This is the easiest possible angle to book, and I don’t remember the last time that belt was even mentioned. 
2. DON’T BOOK HIM LIKE A LITTLE BITCH: John Cena is basically Superman, but Rusev is not Lex Luther. You cannot book him to run away scared every time John gets a little momentum. He’s a 300-pound killing machine – book him like one. 
3. LET RUSEV WIN: I think we can all see what’s about to happen. WWE is going to feed Rusev to John Cena because he “needs” to beat at least ONE undefeated monster after losing to Brock Lesnar for the last 6 months. For god’s sake, DON’T DO IT.