WWE: Did Rusev get buried despite beating Otis on Raw?
WWE: Rusev beat Otis on the latest episode of WWE Raw in the Bulgarian star¡¯s first match for the promotion in five years. The contest, however, was more competitive than expected. This diluted its impact.
Rusev, who returned to WWE programming the night after WrestleMania 41, defeated Otis on the latest episode of Raw. This was the Bulgarian star¡¯s first match for the Stamford-based promotion in nearly five years.
Rusev looked in top-notch physical condition as he took on the Alpha Academy member. However, his presentation and booking left a lot to be desired. Ideally, the match should have come across as a one-sided squash match, with Otis getting in limited offense and taking a solid beating. However, it proved to be a competitive affair that lasted nearly seven minutes.
WWE: Rusev looked strong but not strong enough against Otis
Otis dominated Rusev in the initial portions and even slammed him over the announce table. In fact, he dished out more offence in the match than John Cena did in his brutal showdown against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam a few years ago. As such, Rusev, who eventually won by making Otis submit to The Accolade, looked strong but not unstoppable.
Rusev aura is crazy
¡ª Ali (@codywrestling50) May 6, 2025
So tall and intimidating man #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/195mAAHbJu
The post-match segment too could have been more powerful. In it, Rusev had a stare down with Akira Tozawa and appeared to retreat. However, he soon ambushed the Japanese star and brutalised him. The whole segment was similar to the one between Gunther and Alpha Academy in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 41, but with Akira and Otis¡¯ roles reversed. This diluted the impact of the match and the following segment.
What¡¯s next for Rusev?
Going by the events seen tonight, Rusev is likely to square off against Akira Tozawa next week. One can expect him to turn his attention to a tougher opponent after wrapping up his feud with Alpha Academy. However, being a heel, he might not get a shot at Dominik Mysterio's Intercontinental title as ¡®Daddy Dom¡¯ also plays a bad guy on screen. That said, this could change if Penta¨C- who is a face¨C- beats Rey Mysterio¡¯s son at Backlash 2025.
For all the latest coverage on WWE, track updates here
Roktim Rajpal is a Principal Digital Content Producer at Indiatimes. He has been an entertainment journalist for a decade. Roktim is a movie buff and specialises in covering South cinema and Bollywood. He also takes a keen interest in web series.
Read More