It seems Rusev and Lana are back in the WWE's good graces.
Late last year and in early 2016, there were rumors that the "Ravishing Russian" had backstage heat on her for multiple reasons, which halted her push.
The reported heat led to her being away from WWE television, while her real-life fiance was thrust into the League of Nations stable.
Now that the Sheamus-led faction is defunct, the WWE has reunited Rusev and Lana on-screen and appears to have big plans for them. The "Bulgarian Brute" won a battle royal this week on "RAW" to become the No. 1 contender for Kalisto's United States Championship.
Leading into their match at Extreme Rules on May 22 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the WWE couple was featued on "RAW Fallout."
"Of course we have a new No. 1 contender," Rusev told Tom Phillips. "Not new. I have always been the No. 1 contender. This is my title. The United States Championship is my title. I beat [John] Cena for it. I beat Sheamus for it. I was defending it at WrestleMania [31] on a freakin' tank."
Lana expressed confidence in her soon-to-be husband.
"It's obvious that Rusev is very focused now," Lana said. "So he will take back what is rightfully his."
Added Rusev: "It is mine. Ask Vince McMahon, he knows it's mine. Ask whoever. Everybody knows this is Rusev's title. And when this is over, I might as well rename it Rusev's title."
There were plenty of rumors going around that Lana's initial push fell apart because she drew the ire of WWE officials on multiple occasions.
She originally reportedly drew some heat back in October when word leaked out that she got engaged to Rusev, ruining the storyline of them being enemies. The incident was followed up with a real-life Twitter war with Paige, which eventually was cleared up.
It seems everything changed once Lana made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 32, and now her reunion with Rusev could lead to another U.S. Championship run for the "Bulgarian Brute."
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