Why Rusev Is Ideal Rival to Elevate Kalisto as WWE United States Champion

A resurgent Rusev will be the elixir that boosts Kalisto's sluggish reign as WWE's United States champion.

After a repetitive rivalry with Alberto Del Rio and a forgettable angle with Ryback, Kalisto is now set to face one of the company's up-and-coming stars. Rusev will be a major improvement as a foil for The King of Flight. His intensity, character and manager will see to that.

Kalisto watched from the announce desk on Monday's Raw as a swarm of Superstars battled for the right to challenge him. Rusev emerged from that field, outlasting Zack Ryder, Baron Corbin, Titus O'Neil and others.

The champion has to be pumped. He is now set to enter the most promising feud of his title reign so far. 

Kevin Berge of Questionable Critics talked about how good this could be:

That will be a welcome change of pace. The stories surrounding the United States Championship of late have been so underwhelming that WWE has chosen to showcase them on the pre-show of three straight pay-per-views.

WWE stretched the Del Rio-Kalisto narrative too thin. The two rivals traded the title three times in a span of two weeks in January. Then after the underdog upset Mexico's Greatest Export in what seemed like the climax of their tale at the Royal Rumble, the feud rolled on anyway.

It didn't help that Del Rio and Kalisto's matches were hit and miss. Sometimes their chemistry clicked. Sometimes they were awkward dance partners stepping on each other's toes.

Kalisto then moved on to Ryback. The in-ring action between them was engaging, but overall, it lacked spark. A major part of that was because The Big Guy didn't add much to the feud from a verbal standpoint. 

That won't be an issue with Rusev. For one, The Bulgarian Brute has one of WWE's best mouthpieces at his side. Lana's charm and allure will up the interest level of this rivalry right away.

But Rusev can handle himself on the mic, too. Employing a barking, belligerent interview style, he has found his voice. As we saw with his post-victory speech on Monday night, he provides an energy and level of engagement that Ryback just didn't have often enough.

This will allow Kalisto vs. Rusev to be a deeper story with more airtime, more subplots and more verbal showdowns.

It's a story that will write itself. Rusev is a former U.S. champion who hadn't focused on regaining the title until now. The foundation for this feud can be his frustration over losing the belt and all the drama that followed. Kalisto's part in this drama will be survival as he tries to hold onto the belt with a wrecking ball coming at him.

In the ring, the David-versus-Goliath dynamic will be at play again.

That's good news for both combatants. Rusev is undersized as a monster heel, but not against the 5'6'' Kalisto. And the high-flyer's best work has come against larger opponents with him playing the resilient underdog.

WWE already knows, too, that these men work well together. They clashed in a match on Raw in February that turned out to be an eye-catching encounter. Kalisto and Rusev had the kind of chemistry that begged to be exploited more.

On top of that, this is a battle between two stars on the rise. 

The audience has likely yet to see either Kalisto's or Rusev's ceiling. They are both young NXT alumni who could well be major players for the company down the road.

The folks from the New Age Insiders podcast talked up Rusev's potential:

This title feud will be that second shot for the powerhouse. He will no doubt be a part of some thrillers in the ring with a dynamo like Kalisto opposite him. He will once again be in contention for gold.

For Kalisto, the benefits of battling Rusev are plentiful. 

Expect the profile of the United States title to rise in the coming months as a result. That championship will move up from the pre-show and gain momentum thanks to a beast and a spark plug colliding again and again.