Rusev has reportedly been medically cleared to return to the ring after being sidelined since late July.
The WWE star has not competed since losing to Je’Von Evans on the July 27 episode of Raw from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Speaking on NotSamWrestling, CJ Perry revealed that Rusev suffered an injury during the match that resulted in his arms and hands going numb. “It was the Intuit Dome in LA; he had a match against Je’Von Evans, and in the match, something happened and his arms went completely numb,” Perry said. “He had to roll outside of the ring and the refs were thinking about calling the match. He’s like, ‘I can’t feel my hands.’”
Perry was seated approximately ten rows from the ring and recalled seeing the situation unfold. Footage later circulated on social media, leading to debate over whether Rusev was legitimately hurt or whether his actions were connected to the planned outcome of the match. “The fans were debating and fighting each other because some were like, ‘He’s really hurt and injured.’ Some were like, ‘He just doesn’t want to lose,’” Perry continued. “He took a couple of seconds outside, and when the ref was like, ‘We’re going to call the match. Your hands are going numb.’ Once he had feeling, he was like, ‘No.’ He rolled in and finished the match.”
Perry strongly rejected suggestions that Rusev’s actions were an attempt to avoid losing to Evans, arguing that his decision to continue despite being given the opportunity to stop the match demonstrated the opposite. “Those rumors are not true when people are like, ‘He doesn’t want to put people over.’ That’s not accurate and not true,” she said. “He’s always there to do business. He always fights for a good story. That’s how people get over.”
After completing the match, Rusev immediately headed backstage for medical attention while dealing with significant pain. “He finished the match,” Perry said. “He was in a lot of pain and tried to get out the ring as quick as possible and get back to medical. That’s when the rumors started.”
Perry reiterated that Rusev could have allowed WWE officials to stop the contest, which would have prevented the planned loss from taking place, but instead chose to finish the match. “He could’ve had WWE stop the match and not lose, but he chose to roll back in the ring and do what’s right for business,” Perry said. “He just had to get back to the back as quick as possible because he wasn’t well at the time.”
The most significant update came when Perry revealed that Rusev recently visited the WWE Performance Center and has now been cleared. “He went to the PC last week and got cleared,” she revealed. “He had a little bit of another issue with health going on, but he’s cleared now.”
Perry did not provide further details about the additional health issue she referenced or give a timetable for Rusev’s return to WWE television.
Before being sidelined, Rusev had been aligned with Ethan Page on Raw.
