Most WWE fans believe that wrestlers who receive the strongest crowd reactions deserve the biggest pushes. To most fans, it’s the ultimate indicator of popularity for a babyface and the proof that a heel is doing their job well. It’s the simplest argument to justify a huge push for a wrestler and the expectation is that’ll lead to bigger matches and championships. This is why a lot of people complain about Roman Reigns receiving endless title matches and it’s also the reason why some fans are upset about WWE officials not capitalizing on Rusev Day.
The Bulgarian Brute held the United States Title for two lengthy reigns. He’s feuded with a lot of main event players and helped turn a random pairing with Aiden English into one of the hottest gimmicks on WWE programming. English deserves a lot of credit for getting the gimmick over, but Rusev is absolutely qualified to become a main event star. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely he’ll win Money in the Bank or enter the WWE Title picture anytime soon.
His surprising win over Daniel Bryan on SmackDown Live last week may be the beginning of a big push. On paper, that’s all a flourishing wrestler needs to get over is higher quality wins against main event opponents. The problem is that will not work if WWE officials refuse to turn Rusev babyface despite the overwhelming he’s getting from the WWE Universe. That is the biggest obstacle standing in Rusev’s way of becoming a bonafide WWE main event star.
There are several possible reasons why the powers that be won’t turn Rusev face. It’s been reported that his contract could be coming up in less than a year and the company may not want to invest so much in him before he leaves. There have been multiple reports of Rusev having issues backstage, so that could be the thing that stands in his way of reaching the next level, but wrestling fans can be extremely loyal to performers who deserve it. “Rusev Day” could continue with other promotions if The Bulgarian Brute continues to wrestle.
However, that’s not productive for Rusev or the company. Why would he re-sign after WWE officials wasted his potential? More importantly, if WWE officials are not willing to capitalize on a hot gimmick, that tells you everything you need to know about their feelings regarding Rusev. The only logical thing to do is to push Rusev with the intent to re-sign him to a new contract before his current one expires. We’ll see what happens at Money in the Bank next month, but it seems like Kevin Owens or The Miz are more likely to walk out of Rosemont with the briefcase.