Lana Explains Why Vince McMahon Dropped Rusev Day Storyline

At least he had a reason. The biggest wrestling story of the year has been the departure of Vince McMahon from WWE. After nearly four decades of McMahon in charge of the company, he has finally stepped down and handed the reins off to someone else. That has caused quite a few changes and now we have a better idea about one of McMahon’s less well received decisions.

CJ Perry, formerly known as Lana in WWE, recently appeared on In The Kliq to talk about some of her time in WWE. Perry mentioned the Rusev Day story, which took place in 2017-18 and saw Rusev become one of the more popular stars in WWE, though he never officially turned good. According to Perry, McMahon never allowed the full turn because he saw Rusev as his “Bulgarian Brute 300 pound crazy villain” and did not want to change his vision. Rusev was released from WWE in April 2020 and debuted in AEW five months later.

Opinion: I can see McMahon’s thinking here, but ultimately you need to take a chance at some point. WWE spends months if not longer trying to get someone over with the audience and the fans were desperate to be allowed to cheer for Rusev. I don’t quite get the thinking behind not going with what is right there in front of you, and that is probably a big part of why Rusev is now in AEW.