Big Show Win Would Be Wrong Way to End Rusev's Undefeated Streak

At the upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, the WWE is faced with a problem that it has a pretty bad track record of dealing with.

Kicking off WWE careers with undefeated streaks and then following up with quality storylines is not something the company does well. Take Umaga, for example. During his second spell with the WWE in 2005, the Umaga character went on a lengthy undefeated run, going 34 matches on TV before losing to...you guessed it—John Cena.

From there on, Umaga really struggled to make an impact, as the WWE made a bit of a hash out of ending his undefeated streak. He was quickly dropped from the world title picture and bumped around some midcard storylines before eventually leaving the company in 2009.

Bo Dallas is a more recent example. Granted, his gimmick never really took off upon his debut, but since his undefeated streak was ended a few months back, he hasn't appeared much on WWE television.

The WWE has done a pretty decent job of making Rusev into a believable heel since he mad his Monday Night Raw debut in April 2014, with Lana proving to be an able sidekick for the Bulgarian.

Naturally, his undefeated streak is bound to end at some point, but finding the right moment to do it is simply crucial for the future of the Rusev character. If the writers can have him lose in a well-worked rivalry, it is likely to not have too much of an impact on his career in the long term.

And therein lies the problem. Although this feud with Big Show has had its bright spots over the last few weeks, Show certainly shouldn't be put in a position to get a win at HIAC—regardless of whether it is a clean win or not.

Having Mark Henry and Show interfere in their respective feuds with Rusev has done little to whet the appetite, too, and it has almost watered down the quality of the product each and every week. It certainly hasn't strengthened the rivalry Rusev is supposed to be having with Big Show.

There was a nice moment on the final Raw before HIAC where Rusev gained a lot of heat by taking down a U.S. soldier who had invaded the ring following the American flag being draped down. That prompted a pretty strong reaction from the crowd and reminded everyone that Rusev still has a bright future with this anti-American gimmick.

It's pretty difficult to try and map out a direction for both men should Big Show win at Hell in a Cell apart from a rematch that would do little for either wrestler. The WWE would be seriously missing a trick in having Show win in this instance, because there are going to be better opportunities to keep Rusev strong in defeat further down the line.

Whether that is in a dream scenario against someone like Kurt Angle (should the WWE manage to get him back, of course) or against a talent who is currently on the WWE roster, it doesn't really matter. All that matters here is that Rusev is kept strong via another dominant win at Hell in a Cell.