Kalisto vs. Rusev: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Current WWE Feud

In its early stages, the feud between Kalisto and Rusev over the WWE United States Championship has given fans reasons to both swoon and sigh. 

Fresh off outlasting Ryback, Kalisto has moved on to another powerhouse opponent. This David vs. Goliath story promises to be better than the one with The Big Guy, thanks to excellent chemistry and two surging stars.

WWE, though, will have to clean up a few elements of the narrative. For this feud to reach its full potential, Rusev has to be a more fearsome monster. It's hard to sell an audience on an underdog story if the favorite too often stumbles. 

Thankfully, most of this rivalry's miscues are minor. Its positives outweigh its negatives so far. After the U.S. title has earned such little spotlight in 2016 so far, Kalisto vs. Rusev is poised to invigorate the title scene if done right.

The Good

With all of WWE's talk of this being a new era, it's only fitting that a pair of fresh faces are battling for the United States Championship. 

Pitting them against each other looks to be a way to elevate both Rusev and Kalisto. Kalisto gets an upgrade in opponent over Ryback as he tries to establish himself as a worthy champ. As for Rusev, this feud already seems to be re-establishing him as one of the more promising talents on the roster.

The Bulgarian Brute's interview with Michael Cole was a powerful addition to the story, especially with Rusev's promise to eat Kalisto's heart.

WWE has done well to tie in the past and have Rusev pine for the championship he lost over a year ago. That kind of desire not only amplifies the value of the U.S. title, but it also provides a strong base for this storyline.

Kalisto is in possession of a prize Rusev holds dear. And the big man is willing to tear The King of Flight apart to get it back. That simple narrative has worked well so far.

WWE has wisely not leaned so much on the size difference between the foes as a storytelling tool.  

The flashes we have seen of these men together in the ring make it easy to get excited about what's ahead. Kevin Berge of Questionable Critics tweeted, "Already like the dynamic of Kalisto vs. Rusev. The two are athletic enough to make this old school power vs. speed battle fun."

The Bad

Timing hurts this feud or at least makes WWE Creative's job a little harder.

Rusev is coming off associating with one of the biggest flops in recent memory—The League of Nations. The audience's last images of Rusev before this story began are of him floundering alongside a group with little chemistry—a stable that never clicked.

And The Bulgarian Brute was far from contender material before winning the No. 1 contender's Battle Royal on May 2. Per CageMatch.net, Rusev had gone 1-5 in his last six bouts before that victory. And he is now just 3-6 in one-on-one matches for the year.

If WWE had more time to set this up, it could have slowly repaired Rusev's image by having him go on a winning streak and reminding the crowd why he should be feared.

Having the story begin on the road to Extreme Rules also ties WWE Creative's hands a bit. It's too early in the story arc to have a Street Fight or Steel Cage match. But the pay-per-view's theme will have the audience expecting something of that nature between these two. 

WWE's best bet is to settle for a 2-out-of-3 Falls matchup, adding some spice to the bout without rushing their level of animosity.

The Ugly

In separate cases with this young rivalry, the end was excellent, but the same couldn't be said for the means. WWE had the right idea; the execution was just off.

Rusev attacking Kalisto on Thursday's SmackDown created a lasting, violent image. The powerhouse clubbed the champ from behind, which made things more personal for them.

To get to that point, WWE chose to have Kalisto sit in on the commentary team. It was painful at times. The King of Flight's strength is not his verbal game. Putting him in spots like this only serves to hurt his momentum, as it forces him to do something he struggles with.

And it's not exactly a creative move. WWE has done this same routine countless times in recent memory.

The rage that led Rusev to that attack and had him seething backstage came from a loss on Monday's Raw. Having the beast become so incensed is smart, but there had to be a better way than him losing to Sin Cara. The last thing Rusev needs right now is more defeats on his resume and more evidence of his mortality.  

A better route would have been for Rusev to demolish a low-rung star, and while he went on a post-match rampage, Kalisto could have come in and made the save.

It's odd, too, that Kalisto was so underhanded on Monday night. As A.V. Club writer LaToya Ferguson wrote of the champ's actions, "Kalisto cheats to help his friend who's losing fair-and-square win. I can't even really break that down, because nothing about it even makes sense."

Projections

The flaws in Kalisto vs. Rusev will fade from sight as more memorable moments happen from here on out. There are the kinds of things critics nitpick but audiences don't care so much about, especially if the matches end up being thrillers.

Count on Kalisto vs. Rusev stealing the show at Extreme Rules and beyond.

Kalisto quietly killed it twice against Ryback at the last two pay-per-views. He now gets to face a better in-ring performer and a foe who, along with Lana, can carry the load from a talking standpoint. Their chemistry has them poised to put on some outstanding contests.

WWE will likely use this story to launch The Bulgarian Brute and try to recapture what he had before WrestleMania 31. Rusev will walk away with the title with that end in mind, leaving Kalisto to fall back into the tag team ranks.