Rusev made his WWE return in emphatic fashion 24 hours after a historic WrestleMania 41.
The Raw After Mania is well-known for its surprises, and followers have been handled to the previous United States Champion making a comeback 5 years after he was released early in the pandemic.
He got here out and laid out Akira Tozawa and Otis throughout their match in opposition to new World Tag Team Champions The New Day.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods escaped however left their opponents to the wrath of Rusev.
The Bulgarian Brute hadn’t been seen on WWE TV since 2020, and seemed a world away from previous iterations of himself after a ridiculous transformation, with followers fast to heap reward on him.
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‘Rusev looks MONSTROUS 😮💨 just destroyed Otis and Tozawa! #WWERaw,’ wrote @Elliottt93, as @McArles7 mentioned: ‘Rusev looks the best he’s ever seemed, wonderful physique transformation #RawAfterMania’
‘Holy crap, Rusev looks phenomenal! #RawAfterMania,’ added @AJKirsch, whereas @1ndecipherable1 identified: ‘Rusev cut weight and looks monstrous… And he was already huge.’
‘I’ll admit, I wasn’t moved after I heard Rusev re signed with WWE however he seems in the most effective form of his life! #WWERaw,’ admitted @heel_enthusiast.
A couple of months after his WWE exit, Rusev – a former three-time United States Champion – joined AEW as Miro, however featured much less and fewer because the years went on.
He’s adopted the likes of Ethan Page, NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints and Lucha Bros’ Penta and Rey Fenix by leaping ship to WWE.
What occurred on the Raw after Mania?
As effectively as Rusev’s return, the present additionally noticed Bron Breakker lay out each Roman Reigns and CM Punk on the finish of the present.
The son of Hall of Famer Rick Steiner has now aligned himself with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman, bouncing proper again after dropping the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania.
New champion Dominik Mysterio had a profitable first defence in opposition to Penta because of a returning JD McDonagh, whereas World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso had a healthful celebration with twin Jimmy Uso and good friend Sami Zayn.
At the beginning of the evening, Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena tore into the followers for being fickle of their reactions to Cody Rhodes.
He ended up getting dropped with an RKO as longtime rival Randy Orton stood tall, hinting at a match between the 2 legends at Backlash.
Just 24 hours after dropping the Women’s Tag Team Titles to Lyra Valkyria and a returning Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez regained the gold.
The Man was livid and turned on Lyra after the bell, laying her out with a number of Man-handle Slams.
There was additionally an NXT presence, because the model’s Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer had an impromptu match in opposition to Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky.
The bout resulted in controversy when Roxanne Perez and Giulia attacked each ladies, whereas Rhea Ripley got here down to save lots of the day, making it clear she’s nonetheless gunning for Iyo’s title within the close to future.
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