Rusev vs. Zack Ryder: Winner and Reaction from WWE Battleground 2016

Rusev continued his impressive reign as the WWE United States champion Sunday night at Battleground, defeating Zack Ryder with the title on the line.

Rusev secured the win via an Accolade, which Ryder was able to momentarily fight off, but the champion ultimately retained.

After the match, former NXT star and Hype Bros teammate Mojo Rawley came to the defense of Ryder and engaged in a stare-down with Rusev, eventually getting the champ to leave the ring, as WWE Universe showed:

Bleacher Report's Graham Matthews broke down what Rawley's appearance could mean moving forward:

WrestlingINC.com provided its take on how WWE introduced Rawley to the main roster:

The Bulgarian Brute initially rose to prominence as the United States champion, but after dropping the strap to John Cena at WrestleMania 31, he faded into the background. After an unsuccessful run as part of The League of Nations, Rusev won the U.S. title for the second time by beating Kalisto at Extreme Rules.

After running through Titus O'Neil in convincing fashion, Rusev needed a new challenger, and Ryder stepped up to the plate.

Following a victory over Rusev's former League of Nations teammate, Sheamus, Long Island Iced Z laid down the gauntlet, and The Super Athlete eventually agreed to put his belt on the line at Battleground.

Ryder was a massive underdog leading up to the pay-per-view, but he drew inspiration from another underdog story:

Rusev and Ryder were selected by different brands in the draft, with the former going to Raw and the latter landing on SmackDown.

Despite having a title match in front of him at Battleground, Rusev showed little concern regarding his opponent, as he immediately began to challenge his counterparts on the red brand: 

Ryder has been overlooked for much of his career, but his list of accomplishments is lengthy. And he has made a living out of surprising his opponents.

The Woo Woo Woo Kid entered Battleground with U.S., intercontinental and tag team title reigns to his credit. That included a shocking ladder-match victory at WrestleMania 32 for the IC title, although he lost it to The Miz the following night.

Even so, Ryder went into Battleground with a fighting chance, and the crowd was behind him in one of the toughest tests of his career.

Both Superstars approached the match with the knowledge that it would likely be the one and only encounter between them.

That made the bout even more important, since a Ryder win could have shifted the balance of power in terms of adding another title to Raw.

Even with the WWE Universe on his side, however, Ryder fell short in his attempt to dethrone Rusev, much like many challengers before him in recent years.

While a Ryder victory would have been a nice story, Rusev as the foreign heel holding the U.S. title works on every level, and it's clear that WWE is committed to building him up for a bigger payoff down the road. 

Now the focus will turn to how WWE utilizes Rawley moving forward.

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