Rusev and Aiden English may have seemed like a strange combination at first, but the two have proven that they actually work quite well together. The two of them are a consistently entertaining on Smackdown each week, especially ever since the creation of “Rusev Day.” The gimmick has been so successful thus far that, less than a month after a shirt was created for “Happy Rusev Day” shirt was created, it is now the top-selling shirt on all of WWEShop.com. AJ Styles and The Usos also have top-selling shirts as well, but Rusev’s shirt appears to be in demand at the moment. Perhaps the team’s success in merchandise sales will begin to translate onto television soon enough.
Aleister Black is arguably one of the top stars on NXT at the moment and he only debuted on the show earlier this year. Black’s in-ring work has left several fans impressed, and he was undefeated in NXT matches until he was pinned by Johnny Gargano during a Fatal 4-Way match on NXT from this past Wednesday night. Gargano’s win took away Black’s chances of fighting in the main event of the next Takeover show. Black’s first loss came as a bit of a surprise to some fans online and in Full Sail University, but Black himself has now put out a statement addressing his first loss in NXT. To his credit, Black seems to have accepted the defeat and he intends on continuing his career in NXT.

I accept this defeat, I will not however accept the reason for it. Redemption and vengeance; that familiar burn inside my chest. You just invited the devil in. #fadetodeath @WWENXT
— Devil’s Blood (@WWEAleister) December 28, 2017

Braun Strowman is one of the consistent highlights of Monday Night Raw each week. Fans have bought into Strowman as being an unstoppable monster, and he will be involved in a Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. However, it may be surprising to hear Strowman reveal that he was afraid of being thrown into a garbage truck. Strowman recalled that particular angle during an appearance on the Spandex Podcast when he said, “That was actually terrifying. I never thought to myself I was claustrophobic or anything, but being in the back of that and knowing I literally had split seconds to per se get out of the way of the compactor from being crushed, it was a little nerve-wracking. All these crazy stunts and stuff that I do, the boss pitches a lot of them to me and I don’t really worry that much, because I know he would never ask me to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself.” Strowman later said that WWE’s stunt crew helped convince him to attempt the angle later on without much worry.