On Two Things we are looking at two superstars past and present we believe would beat the undefeated Rusev. We have scanned the whole of the WWE past and present.
Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle’s intensity was unmatched; his technical wrestling skills unparalleled. Possessing an unprecedented competitive streak that fueled him to become a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Angle dominated the amateur ranks before emerging as one of the most successful WWE Superstars of all time.
Simply put, Kurt Angle was a Wrestling Machine.
Starting his athletic career as a football and wrestling star in his hometown of Pittsburgh, he soon became one of the top amateur wrestlers in the entire country, winning a pair of NCAA titles at Clarion University. But Angle truly captured national attention in 1996 when he won the 220-pound freestyle wrestling competition at the Olympic Games in Atlanta with a broken neck.
His raw athleticism earned him an opportunity to try out with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, but wrestling was The Olympic Hero’s true passion.
Four years after earning Olympic gold, Angle entered WWE and immediately became one of the most competitive individuals to set foot in the squared circle. Just weeks after his debut, Angle, who preached the virtues of his three I’s (Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence), won the European Championship.
Shortly thereafter, he captured the Intercontinental Championship and was crowned as King of the Ring in 2000. With momentum propelling the red, white and blue–clad grappler to new heights, he defeated The Rock at No Mercy to win his first WWE Championship.
A true testament to Angle’s passion and fortitude came in 2003. A mere week after being defeated by Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title at WrestleMania XIX, The Olympic Hero underwent a career-threatening neck surgery. Amazingly, Angle returned a short time later and in July 2003 at Vengeance — just 14 weeks after the operation — he made Lesnar tap out, reclaiming the WWE Title.
During his tenure in WWE, The Wrestling Machine tussled with the greatest Superstars of The Attitude Era, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H and Big Show and even battled John Cena in the Cenation leader’s debut. But it’s the Olympic gold medalist’s WrestleMania 21 bout against Shawn Michaels that stands as not only Angle’s best match, but also maybe the best WWE match ever.
Angle left WWE in 2006, but his seven years in WWE certainly raised the level of competitiveness for the entire WWE roster and left the WWE Universe with memories of some of the greatest bouts of all time. Oh it’s true, it’s true.
Kurt Angle would certainly be a worthy opponent for Rusev and would bring the passion he has for the U.S with him.
Umaga
"The Samoan Bulldozer" was not just a clever moniker for Umaga — it was what he was. Perhaps no other Superstar in WWE lived up to his billing as completely as the 348 pounder.
Umaga came from a long line of Samoans with a rich history — and a brutal path of destruction. Immediately upon his debut, it was clear that The Samoan Bulldozer would make a lasting impact. From the opening bell, he relentlessly attacked every Superstar that dared step in the ring with him, quickly earning him a reputation as one of the most vicious Superstars in the squared circle.
Umaga battled WWE's elite, from CM Punk to Ric Flair. His epic battles with Cena and Hardy over the WWE Championship and Intercontinental Title are modern-day WWE classics. And perhaps more than anyone, Umaga pushed Triple H to the limit. Many times The Game needed help walking back to the locker room after his battles with The Samoan Bulldozer.
Umaga was not a typical plodding big man, though. He was a super-heavyweight who was deceptively quick and could be as comfortable on the top rope as any cruiserweight. These traits, combined with his penchant for sadism, made Umaga very dangerous.
Though he remained an enigma to many observers in WWE, underneath that tattooed, monstrous exterior was a method to his madness. After all, he won the Intercontinental Championship and headlined WrestleMania 23 in the Battle of the Billionaires. Not bad for a wild Samoan.
A new photograph of The Undertaker training has appeared on the Instagram page of Michelle McCool, the wife of The Undertaker.
The Undertaker is set to take on Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania 31.
Here is the updated WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view card:
WWE World Heavyweight Title MatchBrock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
Sting vs. Triple H
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale The Miz, Curtis Axel, Ryback, Others to be announced
These are the three matches that have officially been announced for Wrestlemania but here are more matches we expect to happen at Wrestlemania :
The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
Goldust vs. Stardust
Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth
Of course there are many more matches to be announced with the Diva's maybe getting two spots at Wrestlemania.
WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella vs. Paige
Natalya vs. Naomi
Please remember that not all these matches are definite. All matches will be made official in the coming weeks on the lead up to Wrestlemania
At WWE Fastlane Goldust battled his brother Stardust in a battle that was much more than a wrestling match for Goldust.
Goldust wants his brother back and somehow someway he is determined to get Cody Rhodes to drop the Stardust persona.
Take at the video below and Follow Goldust as he prepares to battle Stardust at WWE Fastlane.
Arriving in America by way of New Zealand, the demented duo of Butch and cousin Luke were one of the wildest and most unorthodox teams the WWE Universe had ever seen.
Prior to their arrival in WWE, Luke & Butch were known as The Sheepherders, one of the most vicious tag teams to ever step in the squared circle. Proudly bearing the flag of New Zealand, The Sheepherders stormed into North America in the 1960s, making a name for themselves with brutal brawls in Hawaii, Portland and Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling.
Luke & Butch continued brawling across America throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, capturing championships in various National Wrestling Alliance territories and Bill Watts’ Universal Wrestling Federation. Their penchant for ruthless battles made their sudden change in demeanor upon their WWE debut in 1988 very surprising to longtime fans.
Toothless and tattooed, the fun-loving Bushwhackers stomped to the ring in camouflage pants and combat boots, swinging their arms above their heads and licking the faces of any fans they could get their hands on. While this type of mad behavior endeared the cousins to the WWE Universe, it made the tough guys a despised pair for rivals like The Powers of Pain and The Bolsheviks.
This untamed outback savagery helped the Kiwis pick up some impressive wins in 1989, including a victory over The Fabulous Rougeaus at WrestleMania V in Atlantic City, N.J. This would not be the last time The Bushwhackers battered the French-Canadian brothers — the two teams met again at Royal Rumble in 1990 with Luke and Butch getting the win again.
In the years that followed, The Bushwhackers clashed with bigger teams like The Natural Disasters and The Nasty Boys. Though they didn’t always come out victorious, their popularity never waned.
In fact, the duo was so well-liked that they made an appearance on the hit television show “Family Matters” in 1994, where they stepped into the ring with Steve Urkel.
In 1996, The Bushwhackers had their final full-time stint in WWE. Though they were never able to capture the World Tag Team Championship, Butch & Luke made a lasting impression on the WWE Universe and were greeted with a great reception when they made a surprise return to the ring in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven.
Now, The Bushwhackers will take their place in sports-entertainment history, as Luke & Butch have been announced as members of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.
Often dubbed “The Franchise of WCW,” the man called Sting is one of the most recognizable and unique faces in sports-entertainment history. It was that distinction that made him the backbone of the Atlanta-based organization throughout the late 1980s until the end of WCW in 2001.
Beginning with his NWA debut in 1987, Sting brought an enormous amount of charisma to the ring with his bleach-blond hair, colorful face paint and neon ring gear. However, at the inaugural Clash of the Champions, a 45-minute time limit draw against NWA World Champion Ric Flair proved The Stinger was on his way to becoming one of sports-entertainment’s elite. Eventually, Sting defeated Flair for the NWA Title, and would later add six WCW World Titles, three WCW Tag Team Championships, two WCW International World Titles and two United States Championships to his resume throughout his career.
While the charismatic competitor was wildly popular with WCW fans, it was a shocking transformation in 1996 that made Sting even more memorable. With The New World Order imposing their will over WCW, The Stinger adopted a darker personality with white and black face paint and attire. He became a silent warrior who lurked in the rafters of arenas all over the country, ready to strike The nWo at a moment’s notice. For more than a year, Sting never spoke or competed in the ring, captivating audiences until finally he squared off and defeated WCW Champion and nWo leader, “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan.
Sting escalated his efforts against The nWo by joining longtime friend Lex Luger as part of The nWo Wolfpac, changing his white visage to red. However, when The nWo began to disband for good, Sting retained his dark look, but adopted an attitude more in line with his flashy "surfer" days.
As WCW’s days became numbered, Sting remained loyal to the organization, engaging in memorable rivalries with Bret “Hit Man” Hart and Vampiro. Fittingly, Sting and Ric Flair squared off in the final match on the last episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
Remembered for his colorful charisma and struggle with The nWo, Sting has become synonymous with the Atlanta-based organization. Although he has never competed in a WWE ring, more than a decade since the demise of WCW, he remains one of the most popular and respected competitors of all-time.
At Survivor Series 2014, The Authority was pulling out all the stops to prevent Dolph Ziggler from defeating Seth Rollins in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match. When it appeared that Rollins would secure the victory for Team Authority and ensure they remain in power, Sting appeared and confronted Triple H.
Following a tense staredown, The Game attacked The Stinger, who countered by executing his patented Scorpion Death Drop. Sting then pulled Ziggler on top of Rollins, giving Team Cena the win and dethroning The Authority.
As 2014 ended, John Cena was forced to bring The Authority back to power. One of their first orders of business was to fired Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback for aiding Cena at Survivor Series.
One week before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Cena battled Kane, Seth Rollins and Big Show in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match in an effort to save his allies' jobs. Although the odds were stacked against the Cenation leader, Sting returned – making his WWE Raw debut – distracting Rollins and allowing Cena to capture a pinfall victory.
Fed up with Sting's interference, Triple H called out The Stinger for a face-to-face confrontation at WWE Fastlane. Using mind games of his own to frighten The Cerebral Assassin with a number of dopplegangers, WCW's face-painted franchise accepted The Game's offer.
At WWE Fastlane, Triple H attacked Sting, but The Vigilante evened the odds with his legendary baseball bat. Pointing to the WrestleMania sign hanging above the ring, Sting challenged The Game to a battle on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
A
t WrestleMania, not only will Sting battle Triple H in a veritable dream match, but the icon of WCW will compete inside a WWE ring for the first time ever.
What does this mean for the future of Sting? As he says, "the only thing sure about Sting is that nothing is for sure."
The Authority Confront Randy Orton
All jokes aside, Randy Orton’s unexpected return at WWE Fastlane really was — ahem — outta nowhere. But the surprise of seeing Orton back in action and RKO’ing anyone whose name began with a “J” had nothing on Stephanie McMahon’s reaction to the return of the Superstar she ordered to be destroyed the last time he showed his face. She welcomed him right back.
Incredulous as it sounds, McMahon — flanked by Kane, Big Show and Triple H — was more than willing to allow the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to rejoin The Authority and take his place as The Face of WWE once more. Even more incredulous was Orton’s eventual reaction to the offer: a tentative, if somewhat sinister-sounding, commitment to attend a backstage "business conference" to formally cement his re-induction via a tag-team bout against Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns, with Seth Rollins as his partner.
Dolph Ziggler def. Bad News Barrett
The good news, more or less, for Bad News Barrett is that he’s still technically the Intercontinental Champion. That’s a silver lining that’s hard to catch, though, since Dean Ambrose absconded with the Brit’s title after being disqualified out of his questionably legal challenge at WWE Fastlane. Being filched left Barrett with a less than sunny disposition, one that didn’t exactly endear longtime foe Dolph Ziggler to him during a non-title match on Raw.
With R-Truth on commentary to demand the WWE Universe #GiveTruthAChance for a title opportunity off his win on SmackDown, Barrett dismantled The Showoff with clubbing blows from his fists and feet in equal measure. A reversal of Wasteland into a DDT gave Ziggler some space, and Barrett was right there to catch him with the Winds of Change off a ping-ponging sprint between the tables. Barrett was unable to connect with the Bull Hammer elbow, however, as Ziggler rammed him into the turnbuckle and pounced with the Zig Zag for the win. Ambrose materialized moments later with the Intercontinental Title in hand and trash talk spewing from his mouth. Barrett, of course, was in no position to throw down with “The Lunatic Champion.” Ziggler, however, seemed interested …
The Prime Time Players def. The Ascension
The Ascension’s run through WWE’s tag team division ended up being cut short long before it reached the highs of their NXT streak, all thanks to the freshly reformed Prime Time Players. Anyone in the WWE Universe who questioned whether Darren Young & Titus O’Neil could truly let bygones be bygones got their answer in emphatic fashion on Raw. The Big Deal provided the saving grace for Young, who had been smothered from the get-go by Konnor & Viktor’s offense and was about a second from getting pinned before O’Neil put the boots to Viktor. Mr. No Days Off sprang with a rollup after a brief fracas to get the pin, but millions of dollars brought millions of problems, as the big men jumped O’Neil and obliterated Young with the Fall of Man. A win is a win?
Paul Heyman Confronted Roman Reigns
Well here we are again. And this time, there’s no studio and snowstorm to enforce any kind of civility from Roman Reigns, who — after a final concession to The Big Dog from a wistful Daniel Bryan — finally stepped into a WWE ring as the honest-to-goodness No. 1 contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Paul Heyman was right there to meet him, spouting rhetoric and visibly relieved to be rid of Bryan, talking up the potential of Reigns and predicting his ultimate downfall at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Despite Heyman's bravado, Reigns’ eagerness to throw down with The Beast Incarnate either forecasts a bright future for the No. 1 contender … or the ultimate downfall of a Superstar who doesn’t understand what he’s gotten himself into. Thirty-four days until the answer is revealed.
The Usos def. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro via DQ
Among the more unexpected facts that dropped at Fastlane was the coronation of Cesaro & Tyson Kidd as Tag Team Champions, a development that seemed as likely as cats and dogs living together when they started teaming on a whim only two months ago. But there they were as champs one day later, defending their titles against The Usos, who didn’t waste any time evoking their rematch clause or putting “The Professionals” against the ropes in pursuit of their third run with the twin titles.
Even Cesaro & Kidd’s signature, on-the-fly tandem maneuvers weren’t enough to slow The Usos down. It took some chicanery from Natalya, of all people, to get the job done when she tripped Jimmy Uso off the top rope following an altercation between her and Naomi that landed Kidd in the crosshairs of a top-rope splash. The Queen of Harts’ interference stopped the match at a disqualification, ensuring The Usos won but the titles remained in the land of cats, facts and Kings of Swing.
Jack Swagger def. Stardust
We, the people, may not be setting foot on Mars anytime soon. But give Jack Swagger credit for the biggest step for mankind since Neil Armstrong after his upset defeat of Stardust, who’s all but gone supernova in the wake of his controversial loss to brother Goldust at Fastlane. Torn between the specter of his former self, Cody Rhodes, and the space-creature he has transformed into, Stardust took out his aggression on The Real American, whose defense of Dusty Rhodes on Twitter landed him in this bout in the first place. Stardust made sure Swagger regretted it, but Goldust was there to apply a little smoke and mirrors to distract baby brother with a sudden appearance. Swagger sprang into action with the Patriot Lock to notch a quick tapout, but it seems the stars of the Rhodes family have not quite aligned yet.
Bray Wyatt is ready to finish off The Undertaker
John Cena challenged Rusev to a rematch at Wrestlemania
Call it a technicality if you must, but the record books don’t lie: John Cena submitted to Rusev at WWE Fastlane. Granted, there were some events that led to him being locked in the Accolade into unconsciousness that weren’t exactly on the up-and-up, which is why a dumbfounded Cena is officially on his road to redemption. The first stop? A potential rematch with The Super Athlete for the U.S. Title at WrestleMania. Only Rusev wasn’t exactly jumping at the chance to face the Cenation leader again. Instead, he settled for kicking the 15-time World Champion while he was down, rubbing the loss in his face, rejecting his challenge and posing from the stage as the Russian flag descended over Cena’s head. Hey, no one ever said The Road to WrestleMania always got off to an easy start.
The Bella Twins def. Emma & Paige
The Bella Twins’ admiration for the NXT women’s division apparently does not extend to taking it easy against two of its most prestigious alumnae: Paige & Emma. The duo, who battled for the NXT Women’s Championship at the very first ArRIVAL pay-per-view, couldn’t get the job done when they combined their strength against the main roster’s resident mean girls. There wasn’t even a match to speak of, really. Brie knocked Paige off the apron and pinned Emma with a facebuster. When Paige stormed the ring for payback, she was dealt with quickly. Better luck next time.
Ryback def. Curtis Axel
Ryback & Curtis Axel dissolved their partnership as RybAxel on ostensibly friendly terms, yet The Big Guy showed his old buddy no quarter in a friendly yet firm decimation of “The Ax Man” on Raw. They squared off moments after the two bros declared they would join The Miz in the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Despite a smothering opening attack from Axel, Ryback’s quick one-two of the Meathook Clothesline and Shell Shocked got the road to #AxelMania off to a rough start.
Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns def. Seth Rollins & Randy Orton
Anyone expecting another explosion of physicality between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns on Raw can settle down. The two most volatile elements in WWE remained at rest 24 hours after they blew the roof off WWE Fastlane, instead focusing their collective energy on the returning Randy Orton and Seth Rollins.
All in all, the bout was a tale of two teams, one that buried their hatchet and another that maybe, juuust maybe had not. When Rollins (with Kane & Big Show on the outside, supporting Rollins before their Fastlane rematch against Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan on SmackDown) tagged himself in during Orton’s decimation of Reigns, the former World Champion threw a fit and stormed off. Yet when Bryan tagged himself in after Reigns laid Rollins out with the Superman Punch, the 2014 Superstar of the Year happily ceded the floor while The Beard annihilated Rollins with the Running Knee. Teamwork makes the dream work, but it seemed as though Rollins was headed for a waking nightmare when he found himself in the sights of The Viper’s punt. Instead of kicking Rollins into next week, however, The Viper offered a rough, if seemingly genuine, pat on the arm. Probably best Rollins takes that with a grain of salt, though: Orton’s mood can famously change, well, outta nowhere.
