Rusev Says Storyline With Bobby Lashley Was Pitched As A WrestleMania Match

In 2019, Rusev entered into a feud with Bobby Lashley on the basis of Rusev’s wife Lana (CJ Perry) having an affair with Lashley and accusing Rusev of being a sex addict.

Rusev and Lashley would wrestle in a Tables match at WWE TLC and on an episode of Raw on January, 13, 2020. Lashley won both matches.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Rusev was asked how the storyline with Lashley was pitched.

“WrestleMania match. That’s how it was pitched to me. I said, Great, I can deal with that. We just never got there. But it was a good story. I understood the story. It was not my favorite story, but I understood it. When they told me what the final goal was, I said, All right, that sounds good to me. We have a direction, we have a dip, we have a comeback. We have a good story to finish it,” he said.

Liv Morgan was inserted into the storyline as another lover of Lana, which led to Liv & Rusev against Lana & Lashley. Lana & Lashley were victorious in the match and the storyline ended in February 2020.

Elsewhere during the interview, Rusev explained why he returned to WWE in 2025. You can find his full comments here.