TNA

Where Does Rusev Go From Here?

For those of you who may not know, Rusev was set for a big match at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view. After being traded to Smackdown Live in the Superstar Shakeup, Rusev declined to show up on the brand unless he received a WWE Championship match. It looked like this was the direction WWE was going in. It would have been perfect too. Randy Orton vs. Rusev.

Orton could win in his hometown and Rusev becomes a member of Smackdown Live. However, plans changed and Jinder Mahal is the current WWE Champion. Orton gets his rematch for the belt at Money In The Bank, which leaves Rusev as the odd man out.

So where does he go from here?

There’s the obvious choice of coming out during the championship match and costing Orton the match. This would in turn set up a feud between Rusev and Orton. Rusev would look strong if he came out of this feud on top, but WWE would probably not have Orton lose two feuds in a row.

The next option would be interfering in the Money In The Bank ladder match, costing a superstar their chance at winning. It could work, but I have a better idea. Rusev should attack AJ Styles before the match, take his place in the ladder match, and capture the briefcase.

You may be questioning yourself, wondering how on earth is this a good idea? Well, let me explain. Styles is the one guy in this ladder match (besides Nakamura possibly) who really doesn’t need to be in this match. They can get a shot at the gold any day. They are both pretty expendable at this point. Styles will more than likely get a shot within the upcoming year, so having him miss out on this opportunity won’t hurt him.

If Smackdown Live wants to capitalize on the return of Rusev, then he needs to return in a big way. Keep him off of television until the night of Money in the Bank. Rusev shows up and destroys Styles, making him unable to compete in the ladder match. Shane McMahon declares Rusev as the replacement since he is the one that caused all this mess. Rusev goes on to shock the world and win the Money in the Bank contract. It’s an outcome few, if any, would expect to happen going into the event. Seeing as how Smackdown Live has been booking on the shock value as of late, this would be right up their alley.

Not only would we see Rusev return in grand force, but we would also see him thrown into a rivalry with the hottest guy in the WWE. It’s a win-win for Rusev, who hasn’t been utilized the way he should’ve been throughout his short career. Rusev has all the tools to be a mega heel, and him going against Styles would only add to it.

Booker T Sticking Around Longer Than Planned

Booker T’s podcast co-host Brad Gilmore mentioned that Booker T will be doing commentary on RAW for the rest of the summer.

Booker T was originally scheduled to do commentary for only six weeks while David Otunga was away filming a movie. Otunga is returning to WWE as part of the Extreme Rules Kickoff panel with Renee Young and Peter Rosenberg.

Indie Wrestlers Mock Randy Orton

Independent wrestlers Shane Strickland, Sammy Guevara, and Mr. 450 decided to do a spoof of Randy Orton at Saturday’s Wrestle Circus event. When they went to the top rope to do dives, they called it off. They then all proceeded to hit RKO’s simultaneously on their opponents followed by doing Orton’s signature pose.

Bray Wyatt Teases Match with Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt recently teased a possible match on Twitter. They had the following exchange:

Jim Ross Reveals Best Opponent for Brock Lesnar

Good Ol’ JR listed out a number of dream matches that he’d like to see today. While talking about it, he revealed who he thinks is going to be the best opponent for Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar is scheduled to face the winner of the Fatal 5-way match between Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns and Finn Balor. However, J.R didn’t have any of the aforementioned superstars in his mind as the ideal opponent for the Beast Incarnate.

Ross said the following (quoted by Inquistr.com):

“I’m a different cat though, man. I’d like to see Braun Strowman – in a big build-up – against [Brock] Lesnar. I think that’d be a nice car crash.”

The good news is that rumours of Strowman vs Lesnar going down at SummerSlam have surfaced recently. This means that Ross and the fans are in for a treat.

You can listen to the entire interview here.

Reason Why Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles Ended In Count-Out

As seen at the Backlash event last week, AJ Styles’s match against Kevin Owens for the United States Championship ended in a count-out. The reason WWE decided on that finish is because they plan to have the two feud in a series of matches.

The belief is that if Owens got the pinfall victory over Styles, it would have left very little ground for a rematch. Styles winning the match would have meant Owens losing the Championship on back-to-back pay-per-views and that would make him look very weak. WWE has also put money into Owen’s “Face of America” gimmick with merchandise, so him dropping the title this soon wouldn’t make much sense.

WWE was left with two options, ending the match by disqualification or count-out. Creative ultimately decided on the count-out decision.

Lana’s New In-Ring Gear Revealed

WWE released the following photos of their website that reveal Lana’s in-ring gear for when she returns to WWE television on the SmackDown Live brand:

Several websites posted photos last month that displayed Lana wearing a dress and claimed that it would be her ring gear when she returns to WWE television. We knew at the time that she would not be wrestling in that because… well, who wrestles in a dress?

Baron Corbin Rips Independent Wrestler

Baron Corbin got into it today on Twitter with CZW wrestler Geoffrey Bravo. It all went down with Bravo ripped Corbin for his appearance. Here is the exchange:

Gunner Teases Signing with WWE

Former Impact wrestler mentioned on Twitter that he almost “hung it up” but teased that it’s now “time to TakeOver.” This has led to online speculation that he may have signed with WWE.

It’s worth noting that at last word, Gunner was on WWE’s radar. The belief was that if he passed a WWE physical, the company would probably sign him to deal. We will keep you updated on his status.