Ryback vs. Rusev: Winner, Reaction from WWE TLC 2015

Rusev and Lana got one over on Ryback once again Sunday night at WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs as the former United States champion defeated his new rival in a grudge match.

Rusev registered the win by getting Ryback to pass out in The Accolade. WWE showed a picture of how it looked right before the ref put an end to the match:

WWE Universe provided a photo of the winner after the match:

Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wasn't a fan of the way the match went, with Lana again faking an injury to assist Rusev:

The Bulgarian Brute recently returned to action from an arm injury with Lana by his side. Although they had previously broken up, news of their engagement leaked on the Internet, and they resumed their successful on-screen relationship as a result.

It didn't take long for Rusev and Lana to draw the ire of WWE Universe as they routinely engaged in public displays of affection.

The Big Guy took exception to that by challenging Rusev to a match on Raw. Lana ended up getting inadvertently caught in the action, however, as she suffered an injury when Ryback threw Rusev into the steel steps.

That led to a rematch during which The Ravishing Russian appeared to suffer an injury again, but this time, it was a ruse, which allowed Rusev to take advantage of Ryback and lock him into The Accolade.

After getting one over on Ryback, Rusev vowed to do the same at TLC:

The match was overshadowed by the fact that it was a late addition to the card, but both Superstars worked hard and put on a solid bout that featured plenty of power spots.

Both men have been lost in the midcard shuffle for the past several months, so they needed a strong performance to potentially get out of that rut.

It may be difficult to make that happen, though, with top stars such as John Cena and Brock Lesnar set to return to action leading up to Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.

Regardless of Sunday's result, Rusev does have one interesting thing to fall back on in the form of The League of Nations. He, Sheamus, King Barrett and Alberto Del Rio recently joined forces, and they have been portrayed as the top heel stable in WWE.

Ryback, on the other hand, has not been in any substantial angles, which is why he may have needed the victory more than Rusev at TLC.

Despite that, WWE decided to give Rusev the win, as he has more to work with in the form of his stable as well as his relationship with Lana.

Both Ryback and Rusev are talented performers who have value to WWE as midcard performers, but the fact that their feud came together so quickly suggests that there may not be substantial plans for either moving forward.

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