SmackDown Marked the Beginning of the End for #RusevDay

By rule, breakups are ugly and sometimes vicious. And given what WWE showed us on SmackDown, Rusev [...]

By Jack Snodgrass

By rule, breakups are ugly and sometimes vicious. And given what WWE showed us on SmackDown, Rusev and Aiden English are on track for the most painstaking split since, well, John Cena and Nikki Bella.

On Tuesday, Lana returned. She wasted no time in making her presence felt as she officially put The Dark Mark on English. Hinting that English has been holding Rusev back, the Ravishing Russian planted a devious seed. While her clandestine moment with Rusev was brief, it looked to spell the beginning of the end for Rusev and English's partnership.

As Rusev's real-life wife and on-camera queen, WWE will use Lana as the wedge that puts English on the outs. By playing the possessive and vindictive girlfriend, she'll plot to turn Rusev against English, first by illuminating the singing hero's flaws. Maybe English costs Rusev a match or makes a series of innocent mistakes. This will make Lana's hunch look valid and soon Rusev will be forced to choose between his wife and his buddy.

While Lana may not ever be a WWE Champion, she may be perfect in a role like this. The Rusev Day movement has proven to be precious for many WWE fans, and if Lana is the one set it on fire, fans will hate her for it.

And that's perfect.

By being a soul-sucking enchantress, Lana will automatically add new layers not only to this story but to Rusev and English as characters. Oddly enough, it's English who has the most to benefit.

Not long ago, English and his old partner, Simon Gotch, were a part of one of the more distinct tag teams in WWE, the Vaudevillians. Their act didn't get far on the main roster and Gotch, actually, is no longer with the company. After they dissolved, I thought English was probably on his way out, too.

Then he started signing.

And if Elias has taught us anything, off-key notes are the quickest way to get booed in WWE. Sudden, English went from the pale guy that wasn't Sheamus, to heat magnet.

Upon aligning with Rusev, English's tunes were greeted by cheers not boos and soon thereafter, Rusev Day would ignite.

All of that was to say this: I underestimated English. But I'm not doing it again.

I think by turning Lana and eventually Rusev against him, WWE will give Elgish a pretty significant boost. It may be unintentional, but I see English coming out of this story with more momentum than the rest of the cast.

What happens after that is wholly unforeseeable, but I'm laying down a tentative prediction that this program will earn English opportunities that we would have laughed at a year ago.

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