Why Rusev and Lana Have Been Absent From WWE TV

You may be wondering where Rusev and Lana have been in recent weeks.

The former United States Champion hasn’t appeared on television since competing in the 50-Man Battle Royal at WWE Super ShowDown on June 7. Lana did not accompany Rusev for the match, so her last television appearance took place on the April 23 episode of SmackDown LIVE (Rusev and Lana backed up Shinsuke Nakamura at ringside for a main event match against WWE Champion Kofi Kingston).

According to a report today by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rusev recently requested time away from WWE. He’s expected back “shortly.”

Although Rusev and Lana haven’t appeared on SmackDown LIVE since April, they continued working house shows through last month’s European tour (with Lana accompanying Rusev).