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My first thought was "7.8," so I've rounded it up to an 8.
I submitted this to the Squared Circle Gazette podcast, but Rusev is a guy that I came around on big time. At first I thought "big foreign heel...snooze," but the dude has not only survived WWE booking, but thrived in it. He takes a face injury and turns it into comedy gold. Vince doesn't believe he is worthy of his girlfriend and he manages to outshine Dolph Ziggler in a feud.
I think it's sad we live in a time where we have to say "In today's era, he has the tools to do the best with what he is given," but I think it is true. In Arn Anderson's day, we had carpenters. Now we've got lemonade brewers. They take the lemons and they turn it into something sweet. Rusev is a perfect example of that -- the modern sports entertainer.
I think there is legitimate star potential in Rusev. There's a babyface charisma behind his eyes. There's a humanity there that I would like to see go against some of the WWE's major stars as a young lion looking to take over the Serengeti. Will we see it? In time, maybe, but I hope it is with a few gimmick tweaks. I think Rusev and Lana could be a modern day equivalent to Savage and Liz. Obviously less epic due to the eras, but there's some magic there.
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