Rusev vs. Jack Swagger: Winner and Reaction from 2014 WWE TLC

Rusev has run rampant since joining WWE's main roster earlier this year, and that continued Sunday night at TLC as he successfully defended the United States Championship against Jack Swagger.

As he has with so many superstars before, Rusev locked in The Accolade. Swagger was unable to escape, and the referee called for the bell.

WWE superstar Adam Rose wondered who might be able to stop Rusev from here:

"

Who will stop Rusev? #WWETLC

— Adam Rose (@WWEAdamRose) December 15, 2014"

While some might be disappointed that Swagger lost to Rusev once again, former WWE announcer Jim Ross was just happy to see two guys fight in a non-gimmick match:

The Bulgarian Brute entered the pay-per-view having yet to lose a singles match by pinfall or submission. Swagger had previously come close to ending Rusev's remarkable run, but he was simply no match for the Super Athlete.

Rusev made an extremely bold declaration during the build toward TLC, but he was once again able to back his words up with action:

Over the past several months, Rusev has run through the most patriotic Superstars on WWE's roster. That culminated with him beating Sheamus for the United States Championship during a WWE Network exclusive match following a November edition of Raw.

After his participation in the Team Authority vs. Team Cena match at Survivor Series, Swagger stepped up as the first Superstar to challenge him for the title.

It was far from the first time that Swagger and Rusev engaged in conflict as they faced each other at Battleground and SummerSlam. Rusev won both those matches as well as the feud, but The Real American decided to come back for more.

Rusev obliged, but not before viciously attacking Swagger's manager and mentor, Zeb Colter. That ultimately put Colter out of commission and left Swagger to fend for himself.

According to Colter on Twitter, Rusev battered him so badly that he required surgery:

While Rusev showed no remorse for his actions, neither did his valet, Lana:

That only served to enrage Swagger even more, and it led to him getting the better of Rusev on the go-home episode of Raw. Swagger's ankle lock gave Rusev some major problems in their previous feud, and he reminded the United States champion just how devastating it could be.

Despite that, Swagger was still unable to take down his rival in a pay-per-view encounter.

They managed to have another solid match, though, and WWE seemingly got exactly what it wanted out of the rebooted Rusev vs. Swagger feud.

With Royal Rumble approaching, one can only assume that Rusev will be in the Rumble match. That means Rusev simply needed a holdover angle, and going up against Swagger made sense due to the fact that The Real American continues to garner a favorable crowd reaction.

Swagger is little more than a midcard act at this point, though, which is why WWE was able to save other potential future opponents by saddling Swagger with the defeat.

Rusev continued to build momentum Sunday night, and he has certainly shown no signs of slowing down any time soon.

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