Lana's Expected Absence Is Major Opportunity for Rusev to Grow as a Mic Worker

We're about to see what Rusev's gait looks like when he walks without a crutch. Lana is set to temporarily step away from the screen, clearing a path for The Bulgarian Brute to find his own voice on the microphone.

When WWE pushes him toward the deep end of the pool alone, he will thrive. With added minutes and added opportunity in front of him, count on the bruiser to make the kind of progress as a talker as he has as a destroyer in the ring.

Lana is captivating, alluring and one of the company's best mic workers. Her presence has helped catapult Rusev, making him one of WWE's fasting rising stars. That partnership will get paused, though, as Lana will soon be taking a break from being the U.S. champ's mouthpiece.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc), Lana is expected to be off TV for a while to allow her to shoot the movie Interrogation, which also stars Edge.

This is Rusev's chance to take a leading role in his promos. Normally, Lana does the majority of the America-bashing. Rusev comes in to cap things off by growling a few disparaging remarks.

When she steps offscreen for a few weeks, he will feel like Roman Reigns when Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were no longer at his side to carry the bulk of the verbal responsibility.

The Super Athlete has provided enough glimpses of excellence to have one confident that he will do well when the spotlight shines on him alone. 

Normally, Rusev does more speaking with his fists than his mouth, as we saw when he appeared on Piper's Pit last December.

On the Feb. 26 edition of SmackDown, though, WWE gave him a shot at speaking for himself. He addressed John Cena's desire to step into the ring with him again. Rusev proclaimed that he would defeat an opponent at WrestleMania, but that Cena would not be that opponent.

It was no verbal masterwork, but it was a solid effort. He comes off as believable and plays up his persona well.

He lays on a Russian accent to heighten his gimmick. However, it's not so thick as to muddle his words. 

WWE has to want him to add more fire and intensity to his future speeches. That's when he is at his best. He showed off some of both traits when he trash-talked Cena on Monday's Raw.

Along with all the usual "I will crush you" talk, Rusev did well to fire back at the crowd. "It's not your decision; it's mine, you ignorant Americans!" he shouted.

That moment caught the attention of Pro Wrestling Torch's Benjamin Tucker:

Rusev's performance was especially impressive for a man WWE wanted to protect so much that it had him initially pretend he didn't speak English. He has since gone from barking in Russian to shouting that he will crush everyone to getting to do longer bursts of mic work.

In that stretch, he has gotten better with every extra handful of responsibility WWE has handed him. The company has slowly loosened his leash, and he has responded with small victories.

The folks at Beyond the 3 Count are among those who have noticed his progress:

If Lana's absence comes while Rusev and Cena are still squabbling, that will up his chances of solo success. Cena remains one of WWE's top talkers, a man who flourishes when he avoids cheap comedy and goes for drama instead.

Working with Cena will push Rusev. It provides a high-profile proving ground against a top verbal sparring partner.

And Rusev is set to enter that proving ground without his right-hand woman.

Lana trading movie-making for pro wrestling for a bit will be like WWE taking off the training wheels. Rusev will have his chance to show that he can ride alone, that he can hammer his foes armed only with a microphone.