Why WWE Nixed Plans For Rusev’s Title Shot, Impact Interested In Adam Cole

Rusev has been out of action since WWE Fastlane, but a few weeks ago he posted a video saying that he was demanding a WWE Title shot at Money in the Bank, and he also said that he would be appearing on SmackDown Live last week. Well, SmackDown Live came and went, and Rusev never returned, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting a title shot in the near future.

Related: Money In The Bank Ladder Match Participants Revealed, WWE Title Match Announced

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that plans for Rusev’s title shot seem to have changed as Rusev hasn’t been mentioned on SmackDown Live at all over the past two weeks. With Jinder Mahal’s big push and recent WWE Championship win, there doesn’t seem to be a spot for Rusev in the title picture.

Jinder Mahal recently noted that he didn’t find out he was winning the title until the day of the show, but it appears that whatever plans WWE had for Rusev have been dropped due to Jinder’s title run.

As of this writing Jinder Mahal is scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at Money in the Bank.

Adam Cole’s ROH contract expired on May 1st and he’s now officially a free agent. However, it’s being reported that WWE has not offered any contracts to ex-ROH talents due to legal issues with Ring of Honor.

With that being said, Cole isn’t filling up his schedule with indie dates like Kyle O’Reilly, Donovan Dijak, Bobby Fish are doing, and the expectation is that he’ll sign with WWE and get pushed as a major star in NXT.

It’s also being reported that Impact Wrestling is interested in signing Adam Cole as the company is looking for new hot talent.