Rusev Needs Victory over Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions to Salvage Mystique

Throughout a dominant first year in WWE, it seemed like Rusev could do no wrong.

WWE held out so long protecting his win-loss record, he was almost a lock to be a perennial world title contender for the rest of his career.

But after suffering a routine television loss to Cesaro on Raw, Rusev's feud with Dolph Ziggler and Lana has sunk him to near-rock bottom levels. After multiple months of an angle that has taken Rusev from a monster to the midcard, he is facing a must-win situation at Night of Champions. 

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, (h/t WrestlingInc.com) there is a feeling among WWE officials that Rusev and Lana are weaker apart than they were together.

This is more than a feeling. It's virtually factual.

The brilliance of Rusev and Lana was their ability to take outdated character tropes and make them connect with the millennial wrestling world of today. While brilliant, the concept was lightning in a bottle. The smallest of tweaks, tampering or adjustments ran the risk of exposing their gimmicks as cheesy.

After being lifted from their own universe of Putin-praising and world domination and into the American soap opera archetype, both Rusev and Lana are as cheesy as ever.

There's no guarantee reuniting the pair will restore their paths to the top of WWE. But in order to restore the once-intimidating presence of a monster whom Summer Rae calls "Ru-Ru," defeating Ziggler would put him on the right track.

A convincing win over Ziggler should be the first of a series of dominant performances, igniting a fury even Summer Rae has trouble controlling. Of course, the only person who can tame him is you-know-who.

For the most part, Rusev has maintained his serious, stoic demeanor throughout this ill-fated storyline. It's not too late for Rusev to return to his winning ways and get back on the promising track that defined his rookie year.

It's imperative, however, that the wins come sooner rather than later.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.