What’s the story?
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, now that Lana has hit the refresh button on her character, she might no longer be part of an on-screen couple with Rusev.
In case you didn’t know…
Rusev and Lana met during their stints in WWE developmental and were packaged as a foreign duo in 2013. While Perry plays a Russian character in wrestling, she was actually born in Gainesville, Florida to parents of Portuguese and Venezuelan ancestry. However, she was raised in Latvia and remained there until she was 17-years-old.
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The on-screen Rusev and Lana made their WWE television debuts in mid-2014 on Monday Night Raw, before the company split up the brands. In their time together, Rusev has won the WWE United States Championship twice, working major pay-per-view matches with the likes of Roman Reigns, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show and Mark Henry.
The heart of the matter
On April 11th, Rusev and Lana were announced separately as new acquisitions of the SmackDown LIVE brand, as a part of the “Superstar Shakeup” that saw several top name stars from Raw and SmackDown LIVE switch places. During the same episode, a vignette aired featuring a new Lana as something of a mid-20th-century cabaret dancer.
Also read: Lana claims that she was the victim of a sexual assault at Boston Airport
The “Bulgarian Brute” is currently out of action after having surgery on his shoulder, which caused him to miss WrestleMania. With no mention of when Rusev will return to action, it appears WWE is pushing ahead with Lana’s first solo run.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also reported that since both Lana and Rusev were introduced separately, it is likely that an on-screen split is in the works.
What’s next?
Given that Lana is a featured star on the hit E! reality series Total Divas, and the two are married in real life, it’s unlikely that they’ll run any kind of actual “break-up” angle on television. It’s more likely that going forward, WWE will keep them separate and make as few references as possible to their relationship on SmackDown while preserving Lana’s solo run for a story on Total Divas.
Author’s take
Lana has been training in the ring for some time now, and if being an active wrestler full-time is what she really wants, then we should be open-minded and see what happens. The Rusev and Lana gimmick has been gold on television and isn’t in danger of running its course, as the two still get plenty of heat from live crowds, so they can always go back to the on-screen partnership if this new dancer gimmick doesn’t work out.
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