The WWE Universe was recently treated to the return of former United States Champion, Rusev. The 39-year-old returned to the company after a five-year absence and immediately went after the Alpha Academy, taking out both Akira Tozawa and Otis on multiple occasions.
The former AEW star has been presented as a monster in every appearance since his return, impressing many. However, one former WWE star hasn’t been quite impressed with the Bulgarian Brute and that is former WWE manager Dutch Mantell.
While talking about the Bulgarian on the Wrestling Time Machine podcast on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Mantell seemed unimpressed with Rusev’s return. He stated that the Bulgarian isn’t “impressive to look at” despite his mean physique.
“I did see Rusev by himself. He’s very if you just look at him, he’s a big guy but he’s short. He’s not really impressive that much just to look at. So unless he does it in the ring, where else is he going to get that ‘I’m unstoppable’ [aura]. That’s what they’re trying to make him,” Mantell said. [From 6:39 onwards]
While Rusev hasn’t yet impressed the erstwhile Zeb Colter, his return has the fans buzzing since RAW after WrestleMania. With him finally making his in-ring return on the May 5, episode of RAW, it’ll be interesting to see where the former United States Champion goes from here.
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Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.
Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.
When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief’s SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman’s mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.
When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.
