Rusev and Lana were guests on an episode of Talk is Jericho. The duo spoke on their interesting journey’s getting to the WWE. Easily the most interesting part of the interview was when Rusev revealed the gimmick idea that Dusty Rhodes pitched to him while he was in WWE’s developmental system.
According to Rusev, the ‘American Dream’ wanted him to become a genie. This would have included a magical lamp…….
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Here is what Rusev said on Talk is Jericho (h/t to WrestlingInc.com for the transcript) about Dusty pitching the idea to him:
“He has given me so many good and bad ideas that you have no idea! He tried to make me a genie. ‘Baby, I see you with that new gear. You look like a genie! I want you to work with that Russian chick, Anya, and she’s going to, baby, rub the lamp and you’re going to – pop – appear!’
He continued, saying that he was even forced to do promos as a genie:
“He made me do genie promos for the next three weeks. Well, he had the lamp and this kickboxing chick we had back in FCW, she rubbed the lamp and I appeared”
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Let’s all take a minute to be thankful that WWE didn’t make Rusev a genie…. The episode of Talk is Jericho provided a fascinating insight into both Rusev and Lana’s life outside of the ring and is highly recommended.
Let us know what you think in the comment section below. How would a genie gimmick have gone over in front of a crowd?