The Curious Case of Alexander Rusev

[Torgo]

Greetings and salutations people:

You all know of Alexander Rusev, recent callup to RAW. He apparently is from Bulgaria (thus the "Bulgarian Brute"). HE has the definite old school foreign heel look, with no shoes, no shirt, and the finisher that mekes you humble, the old Camel Clutch. He also has smoking manager but i wont go into that now...Hes a great wrestler, and moves well for a big guy. Its just one thing...

...Ive been thinking about his character. It just seems like he doesnt fit in. Hes too old school, the old hate for foreign heels is pretty much dead. We saw this with Vladimir Koslov. And then...Would he fit in in the olden days when The Iron Sheik was battling Sgt. Slaughter? Frankly i cant see Rusev in the 80s either. Theres something about him that says hes modern...but old school...he kinda seems like a hybrid of the two groups.

What do you think of my observations? Am i somewhat correct or do i need some asprin? What do you think of Rusev? Discuss!

 

[Kris Benwa]

I definitely think he would have been more of a fit back in those days. I think what I've seen of Alexander Rusev sucks personally. I haven't said this since 2011 but here it is, Rusev and Lana are boring. It's gotten me to point of almost catching a few z's during his 6 minutes of air time. Lana isn't that hot to me and Rusev just isn't doing it for me as a wrestler. I think people should get rid of the camel clutch as a finisher and what I've seen of Rusev's move set has been underwhelming to say the least. I hope it will get better once he transitions into a real feud that's important but I don't see it. I think they were the worst segment on this past RAW and ever since his debut he's been a black mark on otherwise good RAWs. I know I'm probably in the minority because of whatever but Rusev and Lana aren't doing it for me. I would answer yes to your question though.

 

[kadroan]

I think he's fine. Just have to be patient. That's been the problem with some of the wrestlers who was pushed too fast like Tensai and Curtis Axel.

Let him run through jobbers, build his credibility. They're going to need him in the mid card sooner or later.

 

[Catacomb]

i agree completely, he is boring. in 8 months rusev will be back in nxt, off the main roster. or at least he will have a gimmick change, the foreign heel is so outdated and reeks of the 80s. i said the same about the bullfighters, they have tito santanas dumb gimmick and although they are still on the roster they wont win or be involved in any big feuds or moments.

 

[laodaron]

Racial or ethnic stereotypes only belong in the early 90s or earlier. They cannot be successful in this day and age where then average fan isn't a toothless redneck.

 

[Tyrant25]

WWE has literally caused their fans to think a certain way. In recent years, they've pushed Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Ryback too soon into their careers, and now us fans think that everyone should be pushed before they get the chance to prove themselves. WWE has been making that mistake for far too long, and look where it's gotten them - Sheamus, Del Rio and Ryback are barely over with the audience. I think if Alexander Rusev is processed slowly, and the fans can be patient, he will succeed.

 

[OutsiderDX]

Do not get too excited about Rusev...

The shelf life for "foreign monsters"- is about a year.

They come and quickly fade. Why?

1. They are one-dimensional
2. They are usually incomprehensible.
3. Fans can not relate to them
4. They will inevitably be fed to a real superstar.

Ask Heidenrich, ask Koslov, ask Khali, Dino bravo, Ludvig Borga...

 

[THE CEREBRAL Viper 1986]

i feel bad for Rusev personally all hes been put up against is jobbers i mean whose next ryder kidd i personally wanna see Rusev up against guys like BNB or rvd if u keep feeding him jobbers like another poster said he will fade quickly

 

[Adam X]

He needs to do one thing...stop using the Camel Clutch and end every match with that kick.

It's the best kick I've seen this year that wasn't thrown by Hanson in Ring of Honor.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

Because of the paper trail left behind from other monster heels his success as they are currently going is limited. Not pushing him in big feuds immediately will help but mid card feuds with some actual purpose will be paramount. He is a trained mixed martial artist and would benefit from a more devastating finish (like that kick and maybe a different submission finisher like a leg choke of some sort). He also needs to be able to command his own interview and eventually own his handler. You want heat on a guy, treat a hot woman like shit and you have instant storyline from the more chival face mid carder. Bottom line, too early to say but he had better develop "it factor attributes" sooner than later.

 

[bioshock]

I think part of his problem is bad booking. He needs to face some local jobbers and really squash them. People would catch on and take more notice of him against some 5'5 150lbs local jobber where he can really toss the guy around the ring and showoff his power, like what Ryback did. No one and I mean no one cares about R Truth or that other guy with him. They could get an upset win and I don't think anyone would care.

 

[JJ15776]

He's a modern athlete with an old school gimmick. Can it work? Sure it can. But it's up to Rusev, just like it would be if he had any other gimmick. That's the thing people forget, or just don't care about. A guy's name, his gimmick, his finishers, the way he's booked...it's all just window dressing. Wrestlers always have and always will succeed or fail based on their own individual performance in the ring and on the mic. We haven't seen much of Rusev in the ring, and we've heard him speak even less, so it's pretty difficult to judge what kind of potential he has. So far, I haven't seen anything from him that makes him stand out. Lana, on the other hand...I think they've got a keeper there. If it doesn't work out with Rusev, they need to find something better for her to do.

 

[rerun406]

^ agreed nothing really stands out that great with Rusev .. and I also feel the following is accurate

1. They are one-dimensional
2. They are usually incomprehensible.
3. Fans can not relate to them
4. They will inevitably be fed to a real superstar.


also Rusev reminds me so much of Tensai, from the foreign gimmick to the power moves to the very dead crowd virtually every match they have

 

[blueskyy]

He should wear a pair of shoes. Not wearing shoes makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[GeneralKarim]

I don't usually like to be negative about these things, but unless he is booked like Umaga, I don't see him being successful at all.

At this point in time the only interesting part about him is that smoking hot piece of ass Lana, and her legs..jesus those legs.....like seriously loook at them!

If he won't speak english and if he will remain with his manager for the long haul, he needs to be booked like Umaga. Kozlov, although a good athlete, was doomed to fail because he was pushed too heavy ( beating undertaker on TV in a quick match lol ) but he wasnt good enough in the ring and didn't speak good enough English.

Rusev looks more fluid in the ring than Kozlov and more athletic than him. Everything is on creative now to book him properly. Ofc it's on him also to have good matches and show that he belong there because we aren't seeing much of him right now. Let's hope they giv them time on the PPV to actually show case what he can do.

 

[Reflection]

He could have been a major player back in the 1980's... a time when wrestlers were so slow that you could run around them thrice in the amount of time it would take them to do a 360° turn... but then again, most wrestlers from today could also be big stars back in the day, because of the kind of fitness, agility, and flashy moveset that wrestlers these days have.
But Alexander Rusev is very boring... and being boring is the biggest shortcoming or hindrance a pro wrestler can have (in terms of having a bright future)- even bigger than being stiff or botchy. His manager, Lana, is also your stereotypical Russian lady that barks random commands like "Rusev... crush!" Together, they are an uninteresting pair that has been repeating the same boring routine since the night they debuted. WWE will continue to push him good for a few months like Fandango and Los Matadores, before making him a jobber for the top card and upper mid card.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

The "foreign" aspect of Rusev's character is merely a way to get over as a heel for the start of his run. It's proven effective time and time again so why break something when it doesn't need fixing? Also, the man is Bulgarian so why not take advantage of that? Now, with Lana as his manager promoting him, that's part one.

How Rusev will begin to transition into a wrecking machine, living up to the "super-athletic" moniker that's been assigned to him. This may sound like every other monster heel like Kozlov or Umaga but Rusev is not only strong & looks menacing, but he's agile. That's a scary combination but something that the WWE are waiting to tap into for when he starts facing serious opponents. When facing jobbers, you don't need to reveal much about Rusev (moveset or character) to get the ball rolling.

I advise to be patient with Rusev. Once he starts reaching higher caliber superstars and has been around the block a few times, he'll be pulling out more tricks for the bag... or completely flop and I'll gladly eat my own words & endorsements for Rusev.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Rusev's character, or lack thereof, is essentially following a tired and stale old formula that we've seen employed numerous times in various different wrestling companies. Given his look, legit strength, athletic ability and Lana being by his side, Rusev would have been a great heel for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship in Jim Crockett Promotions or against Hulk Hogan in the WWF during the mid to late 1980s. After all, the Soviet Union was still around, exploiting existing paranoia regarding Communism was perfectly acceptable in all forms of media and engaging in cultural stereotypes that were sometimes downright racist or prejudiced were all good.

But, the year's 2014, the Soviet Union is long gone, national patriotism has become decidedly unfashionable, political correctness is the new God and anything that can be even remotely interpreted by anyone as culturally offensive gets blown out of proportion. Thanks in no small part to people who simply like stirring shit up, especially via Facebook and Twitter, the tiniest things are made into a federal case these days. As a result, the dominant foreign monster heel with a manager proclaiming him to be superior to Americans simply doesn't click anymore.

 

[GoatfaceKiller]

I completely agree with Kris Benwa on this one. And, the Camel Clutch bores me to tears. It doesn't matter what sort of face he makes whilst applying it to make it SEEM more brutal...it's just not that interesting a move. The man doesn't get any sort of reaction, and if he continues down the road he's going (i.e. - not building an interesting moveset on top of his imposing physique), then like some people said, he's going to fall into mediocrity and be off TV before the year is out.

Let him run through jobbers, build his credibility.

Sure, but does it have to be the SAME DAMN JOBBER every time? What has WWE done with Xavier Woods besides letting him go over a fossilized Junkasaurus (Clay) once or twice? Absolutely nothing. Rusev beating guys like him and Zack Ryder for 3-4 months does not help his credibility at all. After Extreme Rules, Rusev needs to be thrust into the mid-card spotlight as often as possible...and a change of finishing moves would help a great deal. If he's going to be billed as a big strong dude who moves quickly, then really, he's going to have to ditch that eyesore of a Camel Clutch. He doesn't have to be a spot machine, not at all...but he does have to have SOMETHING to bring the crowd to the edge of their seats and go "Wow, this guy is legitimately brutal! I wanna see more!" ...in so many words, of course.

 

[theblasterkid]

He needs to do one thing...stop using the Camel Clutch and end every match with that kick.

It's the best kick I've seen this year that wasn't thrown by Hanson in Ring of Honor.

It's a spinning heel kick by the way, but I agree! A fucking camel clutch as a finisher is so damn lame. The guy as some MMA training and you give him a boring ass camel clutch as a finisher? He needs a definite finisher change.

 

[Pedigree1]

The thing about Rusev is,the gimmick is 20 years too late im afraid.. Rusev is a brute no doubt there,strong as all hell but then again he is 300 pounds of pure muscle so no shit he is strong..

He moves better than Kozlov though,but still IMO its kinda the same gimmick.. I am holding out hope for Rusev,but not much. Remeber Rocky IV? Soviet Union against the USA? Perfectly acceptable to cheer for us and boo them. He would have worked well in the NWA or WWF in the 80's. Imagine a tag team stable with him and Sheikie?

But 2014 is a new era. PC is the new god of everything and this gimmick i just honestly dont see working.. People dont care to see this guy mainly we look forward to seeing Lana.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Erm... isn't the Soviet Union rising again? Annexing parts of countries etc?

The biggest problem Rusev has is he ISN'T Russian and he isn't really the age that can be said he grew up in the "old Eastern Bloc" like Kozlov, Zukov, Koloffs and Volkoff were/could have been. Bulgaria isn't a scary place, it doesn't really have much of a history of violence or oppression in recent memory - so he comes across as a European who can't speak English and has a hot broad who IS Russian talking for him in limited English.

What made the Drago idea work in the 80's and that Rocky movie was that both of them were "super athletes" Drago's wife was supposed to be an Olympic Swimmer, they were a team and national icons under that spotlight and pressure from their bosses and it showed but actually just a husband and wife... if WWE is trying to capture that it's not a bad thing, but there is no real "passion" in either performer right now. The best parts of the Drago's were the emotional outbursts under the cold, icy machines... like when the wife attacked the press viciously or when Drago gets angry and finally rebels against his "handler". Sure it's early days, they are still building the characters and the gimmicks and Lana does have something about her... but they have to show this side of them sooner rather than later otherwise people will get bored... If Henry is fit have him show up and cost Rusev the loss against Truth and Woods this week... or have a frustrated Big E show up after losing his IC title. Let us see what happens when the "machine" gets a spanner in it's works... then we know if Rusev and Lana will work or not. If they can't manage that then it's one dimensional for them and it'll be over quickly.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I think his booking is horrible. "Have him beat jobbers for weeks to build credibility"? No, no one thinks it's real. You aren't building shit except a Pavlovian response of boredom. "Oh, here comes a squash, time to take a piss" will soon turn into "oh, here comes Rusev, time to take a piss".

As a talent I think he's fine. The booking is just awful.

 

[i_am_the_champ94]

I guess im going to be that guy then. I personally think he sucks. He's very boring in the ring and he isn't anything we havnt seen before. He's basically just a new, heavier, Bulgarian version of Vladimir Kozlov. And just like Kozlov he's very boring, and has yet to do anything special or impressive. Im not one of those guys who hates new superstars, I just don't see a thing about this guy that's entertaining. He has a boring set of moves, a lackluster finisher, and bland theme music. I am very excited for the debuts of both Adam Rose and Bo Dallas but Rusev just isn't all that great. The only fun/cool thing about him is his manager and even she isn't as hot as everyone is claiming.

 

[Headman]

I think he needs face paint. They've gotta cover that goofy mug some how. And maybe some new theme music that isn't so John Williams-ish. And I agree with others. The camel clutch sucks. And re-naming the camel clutch sucks even more.