Lana's Potential Will Only Be Reached If WWE Avoids Romance-Centric Angles

With Lana back in the fold, WWE has to steer her far away from melodrama and soap operas and instead point her compass back toward where her character began.

Rusev's manager and fiancee returned on Monday's Raw wearing a grin and a diamond ring. Her broken wrist has healed enough for her to perform again, but her gimmick remains fractured. WWE had her saunter right back into schmaltzy territory.

At her best, Lana was one of the hottest acts on the roster.

In an era short on standout managers, she was exactly that. She commanded the audience's attention with a self-righteous viciousness and mixed strength with sex appeal. She was the voice of a monster, directing where Rusev should charge next. 

While Rusev has his moments on the mic and boasts some unexpectedly good comic timing, he was better off when Lana served as his mouthpiece.

She channeled his beastly rage into something more palatable. She was miles smoother and more charismatic than him. Lana was not his sidekick; she was the star of that duo.

And WWE stripped all that away. She became more lovebird than lioness.

Soon, she was arguing with Dolph Ziggler about whether Summer Rae had seen his junk in the shower. Her appearances often consisted of either catfighting or standing next to The Showoff with little to say.

On Monday night, WWE continued to misuse the talented manager. Lana snuggled and kissed Rusev on Miz TV. She spoke about just how far her and Ziggler's relationship had gone.

This was uncomfortable at best, and hackneyed tripe at worst. Once again, Lana was reduced to a starry-eyed, lovesick hanger-on. She wasn't the star she had been; she was simply the love interest.

PWTorch's Greg Parks was among those questioning what unfolded on screen:

Continuing down this road is just an odd choice. Lana hasn't been good in this new role. As a barking, Russia-loving loudmouth, she thrived. As a part of a love quadrangle, she has been surprisingly ordinary. 

There is much less depth to this version of her character, too. She's just coy and red-cheeked, wading through an embarrassing angle.

WWE knows what works with her. It already created the blueprint for her success.

The only choice is to have her revert to who she was when she first entered the scene. As Prowrestling.net's Jason Powell asked, "Can we just get back to her being an ice princess and Rusev being a badass monster?"

There's no reason WWE shouldn't do exactly that.

Word of the real-life engagement between her and Rusev forced WWE to take a dramatic right turn with its storytelling. Despite spending months tearing those apart, the company felt it had to jam them back together. It didn't matter how nonsensical their reunion was.

With that painful part of the story now over, WWE has a chance to right a ship it sent in the wrong direction.

WWE should have never split up Lana and Rusev. It should never have paired her with Ziggler or morphed her character into a beaming teenage girlfriend. She had already found her ideal role.

But all will be forgiven if the company now avoids making her the center of future soap operas, instead letting her grow her fangs back and stomp ahead as she leads Rusev to success.

Credit: WWE.com

This is how to best let her grow as a mic worker and a character. This is how to best provide a pathway for her to become an elite manager. The original incarnation of Lana was the one poised to have the most memorable career.

Lana and Rusev's real relationship forced a chance in their scripted one and has created a chance for a do-over. After a failed experiment, WWE can proceed knowing what chemicals simply don't mix in the Lana formula—and which ones most allow for an explosive reaction.