Rusev is fresh off a cheating angle where his real-life wife Lana cheated on him with Bobby Lashley. The angle saw Rusev and Lana "get divorced" on television with Lana moving on to "marry" Lashley. After teaming Liv Morgan in a loss to Lashley and Lana on Jan. 20 WWE Raw, Rusev hasn't been on TV.
It was reported last week by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer that Rusev is currently in a contract dispute with WWE.
Speaking on his Conversations With The Big Guy podcast, Ryback weighed in on Rusev's current situation.
"This isn't the angle to go into with a contract negotiation. They put you in that position to cause strain on your real-life relationship. I really believe there's a reason behind why they do that stuff. It's very odd and the angle was odd. But it puts you in a weird position. He does this angle and I don't think it's helped anybody. Then they pull him off TV because he hasn't signed the contract. If he doesn't sign, he'll either stay off TV or they'll bring him back to embarrass him. They do stuff with your character based off you not signing."
He continued, "This just lowers Rusev, he doesn't get revenge, and he looks weird in hardcore fan's eyes. It lowers your value and how people perceive you. WWE is fully aware of it. They do it in stages and put chinks in your armor and it adds up over time. He is a big name that I think should let the contract run up and go to AEW. With that schedule, I know he wants to do acting, that's a guy that leaves and you make him a main event star right away. And you show them 'fuck you' and the people would be behind him."
It is unknown when Rusev's contract with WWE expires. His wife Lana signed a new five-year deal in November 2019 and remains on television.
You can keep up with all the contract news in wrestling with Fightful's list of expiring contracts.
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