The WWE Universe has been anticipating The Bulgarian Brute’s return to WWE programming since it was announced that he would return to SmackDown Live. He was expected to make his return during last night’s show, but Rusev didn’t appear last night for a specific reason.
Related: AJ Styles Facing Jinder Mahal, Rusev’s Return And More On SmackDown Live Tonight
Heading into Backlash, Rusev is expected to state his claim for a WWE Title opportunity if the WWE Champion is Randy Orton or Jinder Mahal after Sunday’s PPV. However, he explained his absence from this week’s edition of SmackDown Live on Twitter.
Rusev posted the following:
Sorry #SmackDownLIVE I had to make the @PredsNHL game. See you when I see you.
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) May 17, 2017
Rusev was present with Lana in Nashville for the NHL Playoffs, which means he wasn’t even in Manchester, New Hampshire last night. Clearly, there was no intention to use him on the show. However, that makes sense when you consider WWE is only days away from Backlash.
The Bulgarian Brute has stated his claim to challenge for the WWE Title at the Money in the Bank PPV in a few weeks. It makes more sense for him to return to SmackDown next week after Backlash. That way his feud with Mahal or Orton can begin without any interruptions.
[…] Related: Reason Why Rusev Wasn’t On SmackDown Live This Week Revealed […]