By now you have probably heard about the situation that has unfolded this week regarding WWE Superstar Rusev, his removal from a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble & being replaced by Chris Jericho, which all led to speculation as to what his status is with WWE currently is.
It was reported earlier in the day by Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina that he reached out to WWE for a statement regarding Rusev’s status with the company and said that WWE told him that the rumors of Rusev being released or asking for his release are not true. WWE says that Rusev is still with the company and that he will be participating in the 50-Man Royal Rumble Match at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event.
The situation with Rusev was discussed on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live, and Bryan Alvarez added more clarity to the whole ordeal. Alvarez said that the reason Rusev was pulled from the casket match against The Undertaker had nothing to do with his tweets or the interview that he gave TMZ yesterday.
“There is no scandal involving Rusev. It’s all storyline. Rusev is no longer in the match with The Undertaker, he has been replaced by Chris Jericho. They ran some goofy stuff on social media to I guess get people talking – which they did. Rusev I believe is going to be in the Greatest Royal Rumble, so he’s still on the show.”
Alvarez expanded further on the situation by saying:
“The point of this is that Rusev is not quitting. He’s not leaving. He’s not getting fired. Nothing like that. They just decide Jericho vs. Undertaker would be a better match, even though they announced Rusev vs. Undertaker before they figured it out.”
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(H/T our friends at Ringside.com for the transcriptions.)
