Rusev pulled from Undertaker match in Saudi Arabia, replaced by Jericho, after TMZ headline stirs controversy on Taker’s wife’s Twitter feed

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor


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Chris Jericho has replaced Rusev as the opponent of The Undertaker at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on Apr. 27, which will be streamed live on WWE Network. Lana posted on Twitter yesterday afternoon that she told WWE officials she refused to let her husband compete in a Casket Match.

Then Rusev at the same time yesterday afternoon removed his WWE handle and stopped following WWE.

This occurred hours after TMZ  published a video with Rusev vowing to send the Undertaker into retirement. However, the headline read: “WWE’s Lana & Rusev Rusev’s Gonna Retire Undertaker … CRUSH His Old Ass!” Rusev did not call Taker “old,” though.

What Rusev actually said is: “He is a legend of WWE, but so am I. It’s Rusev Day, you know? Undertaker is kind of a little bit in the past… I’ll beat him so bad, maybe it’s his last fight, yeah.” He said he hasn’t even reached his prime yet, but Undertaker is past it.

Social media blew up with people thinking Undertaker his wife Michelle McCool should be upset by the comment. McCool, though, clarified she was not upset.

https://twitter.com/McCoolMichelleL/status/984451345439707137

https://twitter.com/McCoolMichelleL/status/984560345535713280

On Twitter, that led to a follower noting that Undertaker donated to President Trump “after he physically mocked a disabled reporter… anyway, keep on fighting the good fight.” McCool called that part of her husband’s “personal life.”

https://twitter.com/babyfacepop/status/984534327122956289

That led to another follower posting the political donations of Undertaker (real name Mark Calaway).

Other fans continued to push back against McCool even thinking that calling out Taker for his age would be an issue in the first place.

https://twitter.com/NeverNotDebbie/status/984469617065234433

Another fan pointed out this isn’t even new territory in terms of Undertaker opponents.

Fans are concerned that Rusev being replaced by Chris Jericho is due to this dust-up.

McCool tried to instill some calm in the situation and clarify that she isn’t actually upset with the comment and was just clarifying Rusev never actually said what the headline said he said.

https://twitter.com/McCoolMichelleL/status/984560345535713280

https://twitter.com/McCoolMichelleL/status/984576326941192192

Had Rusev not been pulled from the Saudi Arabia match against Undertaker, this wouldn’t have become an issue, in all likelihood, but the perception – fair or not – among many fans is that Rusev is being punished or pushed aside because of a promo he cut to promote the match which was taken out of context. McCool appears to be trying to defend Rusev by saying he didn’t call Taker old, but fans are interpreting that as meaning that had he called Undertaker old, that would have been a problem. Rusev is popular and many fans, obvious by the “Rusev Day” chants, want to see Rusev get a bigger push, and this removal from a high profile match has led to a backlash.

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