This Injured Raw Star Is Definitely Missing WrestleMania

One of Raw’s most reliable wrestlers is, sadly, going to be missing out on his WrestleMania payday. Things were looking bad, and now it seems those suspicions have been confirmed.

As reported earlier this week, Rusev is currently out for shoulder surgery. The timing made it seem that a WrestleMania appearance would be unlikely, but a new report from this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required) has confirmed it.

He’ll be out for two months, which means he’ll be out not just for WrestleMania, but likely for the Raw-branded Payback pay-per-view on April 30th.

It seems Rusev had needed the surgery for some time, but he wasn’t able to hold out any longer. The proximity to WrestleMania means the timing couldn’t be worse. This is the reason why he had an unceremonious break-up with Jinder Mahal and brutal beatdown from Big Show at Fastlane–WWE was taking care of loose ends before his absence.

Seth Rollins vs. Rusev: Raw, Sept. 19, 2016

In the meantime, Lana will be returning to the performance center. She’s had a few matches at NXT house shows in the past year, so this isn’t entirely unusual–but it gives her something to do while Rusev is out.

Will you be missing Rusev at WrestleMania? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook!