• Lana Reveals Why Rusev Left AEW For WWE Despite Earning More In AEW
Rusev spent a decade in WWE before being released in 2020 when the company made budget cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A few months later, he debuted in AEW, where he had a strong start and captured the TNT Championship. However, his momentum eventually stalled, and after disappearing from TV for an extended period, he quietly parted ways with the company. Earlier this year, he made his return to WWE on the RAW after WrestleMania.
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Rusev’s wife Lana (CJ Perry) explained why he chose to leave AEW and return to WWE. She said that he simply wanted consistent TV time, which WWE is giving him.
“Both him and I love telling stories, and WWE is a storytelling factory. He is incredible at what he does. He’s the super athlete. He loves playing a villain. He absolutely loves WWE style storytelling. And so I think it was… and he wanted to wrestle every week on TV. That was a big thing for him.
He loves wrestling. It wasn’t about a check for him. So it was like, yeah, maybe he made more money at AEW or something, but it was more important for him to get out there and be wrestling. It was really hard for him to not be working.”
Rusev has been a regular presence in RAW’s mid card since he returned to WWE. He went after “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship and also participated in The Last Time Is Now Tournament.
• Saraya Reveals Why Titus O’Neil Was “F**king Pi$$ed” At Her
Saraya (fka Paige) was heavily featured on WWE Swerved, the hidden-camera prank show the company produced with Jacka$$ director Jeff Tremaine. The crew struggled for an entire season to catch the former Divas Champion off guard, so they eventually flipped the script and handed her the weapon of chaos instead.
Speaking on Daria & Toni Unwrapped, Saraya revealed how one prank went completely off the rails and left Titus O’Neil furious at her for a week.
“First of all, they couldn’t prank me whatsoever. They could not prank me for the whole season till the very end. But they were like, ‘Let’s give Paige a cattle prod.’
So, I have a cattle prod in my hand. I’m running around, zapping people. I didn’t realize there was a ‘No prank’ list. I run up to Titus (O’Neil) and I’m like, BOOM! And he was so f**king pi$$ed.
He goes to Vince’s office and says, ‘Saraya f**king zapped me.’ Vince brings me in, he was laughing about it, actually. You know how he is a prankster. But he was like, ‘Saraya, please stop zapping people with the cattle prod.’
Titus was mad at me for like, a week or so. He gave me the silent treatment. But after a while, we spoke again.”
Saraya left AEW earlier this year and has expressed interest in a WWE return.
