The Slap Heard Around the World: Lana and Rusev Seemingly Done as She Joins Dolph Ziggler – WWE SHOCKER

By Nick “Red” Conley

It has been building for weeks and practically confirmed at WWE Payback, but finally on the May 18 edition of Monday Night Raw, it appears that Lana and Rusev have officially split up. Early into the episode, Rusev entered the ring and was ranting against Lana, claiming she needs to know her place, prompting the Diva to come out and state that she still supports him despite the way he has been treating her as of late. The segment ended with Lana heading backstage in tears, alone, as Rusev continued his tirade in the ring. This segment alone would have allowed the WWE Universe to continue speculating and assume that the breakup was not yet official.

However, when Lana appeared during the stale Dolph Ziggler versus Stardust match later in the night, the crowd began to get hyped up about what was going to happen next. Dolph Ziggler won, and then was treated to not one, but two kisses from the beautiful Lana, prompting Rusev to run out to the ring. Lana slapped Rusev across the face in what is now dubbed “the slap heard around the world.” Ziggler then planted a Zig Zag on Rusev, practically solidifying the Rusev-Lana breakup.

So what does this all mean? Well, based solely on the May 18 edition of RAW, it looks like moving forward Ziggler and Lana may be paired together, which definitely could make things very interesting and quickly turn Lana into more of a fan favorite than she already has become. Ziggler is already a top tier wrestler and widely loved by the fans, but this could add even more spunk to his character. For Rusev, the path might not be as bright. Lana was phenomenal on the microphone and added so much intrigue to Rusev’s character, so without her, Rusev may struggle. His capabilities on the microphone are limited and he can only rant against the United States for so long before it becomes stale. The definite positive thing in the near-term is that this offers the likelihood of a Ziggler-Rusev feud, which certainly has plenty of promise, especially with Lana in the mix. Lets just hope WWE Creative is not having Lana and Rusev fake their conflict in some sort of trick against Ziggler, as it would make little sense at the moment why the two would go through all of this trouble to fool Ziggler. I am for one am a huge fan of Lana and her skills, so I am looking forward to what is in store for her character in the coming months.

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