Did Anyone Else Side With Rusev and Lana?

[Square]

Nov 26, 2014 11:59:46 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

Nov 26, 2014 11:55:10 GMT -5 Square said:

I just thought it was stupid in thinking that non Americans know the pledge of allegiance . All I know if it is "i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america" and that's from tv.

Well slaughter was reciting it for them a few words at a time and having them repeat it. Knowing it wasn't necessary.

He wasn't out there at the begining though. They were meant to just say it on their own.

[Hurbster]

Nov 26, 2014 2:32:41 GMT -5 @kingcurtis said:

Oh God, another one of these threads.

For the record, I'm British and the twat was getting what he deserves. He's trashed an entire country for months on end, one he lives in no less. Roughed up numerous wrestlers after the bell, jumped people etc. Why is this so hard for some people to understand?

Spot on. It's a heel getting Karma RIGHT IN THE FACE !

[wallabylikeyou]

I don't know about Rusev but your weirdo flag pledge thing is pretty heelish.

[Mayonnaise]

Dude is one of the best heels in the business but that stuff last night was very uncomfortable to watch. He's done nothing to deserve to be forced to pledge allegiance to the US flag which is completely un-American and only makes him out to be wronged. That whole thing last night was something Rusev should have done to Swagger or Henry (forced them to salute the Russian flag) and then built to them winning a match to make Rusev say the Pledge.

[hossfan]

Honestly, I would have been fine with the segment if Lana and Rusev had been told they had to dress like Uncle Sam or sing the National Anthem. But the Pledge is a loyalty oath. And the idea of a company telling its employees, even if they are incredible dicks, that they have to proclaim their support to a country or they're going to be punished carries some unfortunate implications.

[dersulbob]

Recently I've been on Rusev's side a lot, it seems the only reason he's a heel is because he prefers Russia to the USA. Big Show pulls down the Russian flag and gets cheered, but god forbid Rusev does the same to the US flag. And how dare Rusev attack a man in uniform who has hopped the rail in order to attack him. He gets attacked by two giants and goes down fighting.

My feelings are that Lana is very much the heel with her "you stupid Americans" remarks, but that Rusev in most situations where he has been branded a "bad guy" has been perfectly justified in his actions, and would be a mega face if he supported the 'right' country.

[Hit Girl]

It'd have been awesome if Lana said "Sgt.....Slaughter......you say you American patriot....but during Gulf War....you support Saddam Hussein......so SHUT HUP!!!!"

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

I'm not that sympathetic when it comes to WWE heels, but that segment bugged me. As was said before, Rusev's a massive hypocrite so there's good reason not to like the guy, but the writers are taking the dumber route.

[Hobby Drifter]

Rusev *should* be the best evil foreign heel ever. And he would be if WWE would stop booking the faces who oppose him to be Too Cold Scorpio-sized dicks.

Putting him against the ultra-xenophobic Swagger is dumb.

Putting him against the largest athlete AND world's strongest man is dumb.

Forcing him to do that creepy loyalty oath is dumb.

Credit where it's due. The E didn't make him a chicken**** comedy heel who can't win without cheating. Just let him crush dudes, mock them, and insult his host country (while enjoying all its benefits).

I guess what I'm saying is that I *like* Rusev's booking. It's just everyone around him that's booked poorly. Kind of like how reality warps around John Cena.

[saintpat]

People always say they want characters who aren't just black and white, cardboard cutouts.

These things give Rusev some dimensions: he's a heel, yet they've created situations where you can look at it through his eyes and say, 'Well, if you look at it from his point of view they're doing him wrong ..." which you don't get if he's just RUSEV HATED RUSSIAN HEEL. He's proud of "his" country (never mind that he foresaked his own real country to jump on the Putin/Russia bandwagon) and these naughty Americans are rubbing his nose in sh!t (never mind that he's done the same thing with his flag-waving and Lana's anti-American rants).

And the Americans have also shown character flaws as portrayed by their actions.

So it seems to me this is, yet again, people getting what they say they want and then not liking it.

Surprise.

[Prince Petty]

I have always disliked jingoistic American gimmicks. There is nothing there for me to connect with, as a non-American. I can see that Rusev and Lana are supposed to be heels, but to me, they'll always be the faces in these storylines. Just like Bret and the rest of the Hart Foundation were the faces in 1997 (especially when up against The Patriot and Shawn Michaels).

Why do I care if some guy or girl who aren't American tell Americans they don't like America? What is there in that to antagonise me? Rusev is a very good performer, Lana is very entertaining, and I think they both have an almost cute aspect to their characters. So I'm rooting for 'em.

The obvious problems with him being confronted with heelish tactics and having to stand up to bullies who spout the old 'America! Like it, or leave it!' garbage? Well, that's just one of the many creative issues that the WWE struggles with. There are so many ways to make him look like a despicable heel, and make his opponents look like heroes who deserve applause. The WWE has flubbed nearly every one. They make the faces bigger dicks than the heels, and they make the audience look like raging tools when they have plants try to charge the ring.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Nov 26, 2014 7:14:04 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

Fairly often they seem to be putting Rusev in positions where you can easily justify what he's doing, without seemingly realizing they're doing it. Like when they were aghast at him kicking that soldier when hey, that guy tried to attack him first so he had it coming.

The "soldier" that was really a local indy wrestler. How hard would it have been to find a legit soldier to do that?

I have been loving Rusev's stuff. The group of people I watch Raw with hate him. I asked why, "Cause he is a no good Godless Commie. And dem Russians are our enemy."

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

I have said in another thread that I have absolutely no interest in any part of Rusev and Lana's gimmick (nor Swagger and Zeb's), as I believe national pride is one of the most idiotic concepts man has created, so I have no way of getting invested in their storyline. However, even I can see that this is just a case of Rusev and Lana getting a small measure of comeuppance for acting like jerks for however many months they've been around.

[Juice]

I like him a lot he is a well booked Heel. A contemporary throw back with a throwback manager. He's a bad guy for certain but like edge or wyatt he is entertaining. Good matches psychology and facial expressions. He may beel heel but I like him and root for him

[Phil Parent]

I love Rusev & Lana's act. Like Juice says, total throwback to the simpler days of Foreign = Heel.

They are f***ing wrestling characters.

But I feel Rusev will be such a workhorse for WWE for a long time. He'll only get better and he's already damn good for his level of big league experience. I hope he will get to work with talent that will allow him to grow, but he shows instincts and abilities somebody of his experience shouldn't have. I still remember his excellent selling of a leg injury in that match against Swagger, one of their higher profiles ones. He's a main event talent, I just hope they do not build him to be this strong just to hit the glass ceiling and lose.

Rusev VS Lesnar. Think about it.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

Nov 28, 2014 1:23:51 GMT -5 Phil Parent said:

I love Rusev & Lana's act. Like Juice says, total throwback to the simpler days of Foreign = Heel.

Personally, I can't see much that's simple about a story where being evil and being a foreigner are synonymous. That's some weird, twisted, complicated shit.


If this gimmick is going to work, they need to go full dada. They're already at "He hates america because he's evil, and he's evil because he's Russian, and he's Russian because he's Bulgarian." Every time he comes out, he should be from a different country, and Lana's reasons for hating America should just be long strings of nouns delivered in an everchanging accent. His "flag" should be a big collage of 19th century portraits and Bible verses. His finishing move should just be drinking a cup of espresso and smacking his lips in satisfaction.

[Phil Parent]

Nov 28, 2014 2:03:36 GMT -5 carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) said:

Nov 28, 2014 1:23:51 GMT -5 Phil Parent said:

I love Rusev & Lana's act. Like Juice says, total throwback to the simpler days of Foreign = Heel.

Personally, I can't see much that's simple about a story where being evil and being a foreigner are synonymous. That's some weird, twisted, complicated shit.

In wrestling, it is one of the most basic characters. It appeared after World War II with the first German heels, at the very beginning of characterisation in wrestling. It was heroes to local ethnic communities first (Italian faces in New York, say...), then foreign heels, effeminate types (Gorgeous George, first gimmick that wasn't a local hero.), cowboys and indians. All of which (well, three out of five really) are really offensive by modern standards but back then, it drew on people's emotions and sold tickets.

It is twisted. But consider it within the bubble of pro wrestling. You don't have much more classic pro wrestling than a foreign heel. And Rusev plays a good one that is actually not that heavy on stereotyping and whatnot. He's a tough guy, he doesn't drinbk vodka or do THAT Russian dance or whatever. They just sort of have political opinions. Lana is more of a stereotype, a 1970's Russian diplomat, but even there, she's so phoney with her fluctuating accent and, well, the fact that she's from Florida, that you kinda take it seriously, but then you kinda don't. And that's part of the gimmick that to me makes it awesome. They're both SO obviously full of shit when it comes to the characters being legitimate Russian patriots.

[trollrogue]

So after watching Smackdown, Rusev beat the odds ala John Cena and prevailed in the blatantly unfair 20-men-over-the-top battle royal, and did it despite being an obvious target for all the faces who were defeated by him in the past. Clean victory, no Miz-like shenanigans where he rolled under the bottom rope and waited till the final 4.

Pure badass. Someone said they'd pay money for Lesnar/Rusev, and I agree.

[Starshine]

How is it any better for the faces to force their own national pride on Rusev. I mean, Rusev is proud of his nationality (if you pretend Bulgaria is actually a part of Russia, but whatever) and flauts it, but making a guy pledge his allegiance to another country is kind of f***ed up.

But they push Rusev almost like he's a face anyway. He's had his wins taken away by faces interfering in his matches. He's been double teamed by Big Show and Mark Henry. He wins cleanly. Yet, he's the bad guy because he happens to be the Haksaw Jim Duggan of Russia.

[Hit Girl]

In my head canon, Rusev was a poor Bulgarian who was struggling in an unfamilar country. He probably arrived on a fishing boat. Lana found him, because she was working as an official Kremlin attache, and with Russian state funding, had him trained to be the super athlete. Then they fell in love, united by their common passion for mother Russia and their hatred of the crumbling American empire.