Former WWE Writer Admits They “Dropped That Ball” With Rusev & Lana
A former WWE writer reflected on Rusev and Lana’s run in WWE while admitting that the company “dropped the ball” with them.
When current AEW wrestler Miro worked for WWE he was known as Rusev. The powerful Bulgarian was paired with Lana in NXT and the characters evolved a lot over the years. The highs included three reigns as the US Champion and entering WrestleMania on a tank before a match with John Cena.
Meanwhile, the lows included Lana leaving him for Bobby Lashley, which included a wedding. There were many other lows as well, but that storyline certainly sticks out.
Rusev worked for WWE for about ten years from the time he signed in 2010 to his departure in 2020. Lana stayed a full year longer before she was released in 2021.
During Rusev’s run on Smackdown in 2018, WWE Hall of Famer Brian “Road Dogg” James was the lead writer on the show. There was a point in 2017 and into 2018 when Rusev and Aiden English became a hot tag team that promoted “Rusev Day” during promos. However, WWE decided to pull the plug for some reason, English turned heel and all of them lost the momentum they had.
On a recent episode of Road Dogg’s “Oh You Didn’t Know” podcast covering Backlash 2018, Road Dogg admitted that the company dropped the ball with Rusev and Lana.
“I’m not sure to tell you the truth. These are always difficult questions for me, and I’m just being honest because it’s one of the things that I — I don’t want to say regret, because it’s not like I lose sleep, but when the conversation comes up about Rusev and Lana and their stint here I feel like they slipped between my fingers. I dropped that ball and I say Lana in there with Rusev because I believe that was part of the package.”
“I liked Aiden English in there with them too. That’s just one of the things I feel like I could go back and do it differently I would try to do it differently.”
Miro debuted in AEW in September 2020. However, he only wrestled four matches in 2022 and hasn’t had a match since September 2022 for reasons that remain unknown.