{"id":134585,"date":"2025-04-28T12:29:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T16:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=134585"},"modified":"2025-04-28T12:29:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T16:29:09","slug":"does-rusev-have-a-secret-wwe-raw-tag-team-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/28\/does-rusev-have-a-secret-wwe-raw-tag-team-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Rusev Have A Secret WWE Raw Tag Team Partner?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rusev made his much-anticipated return to WWE after five years on WWE Raw after WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p>Many were left scratching their heads when he chose to return to disrupt an impromptu World Tag Team Championship match between The New Day and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/21\/rusev-returns-and-lays-waste-to-the-alpha-academy\/\" target=\"_self\">The Alpha Academy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps, this was a totally random decision for Rusev to walk through the curtain and curtail this match. Or, perhaps it was a strategic plan.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Rusev is back with his sights set on tag team domination. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/28\/preview-wwe-raw-4-28-25-guest-gm-tonight-in-kansas\/\" target=\"_self\">WWE Raw in Kansas City<\/a> will likely give us our next look at Rusev.<\/p>\n<p>We have to ask does Rusev have a secret WWE Raw tag team partner? If he does, here are the potential candidates.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rusev returns to destroy Alpha Academy: Raw highlights, April 21, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K1SRfYFgzbE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Rusev WWE Raw Tag Team Partners<\/h3>\n<h3>Sheamus<\/h3>\n<p>Rusev has had very few tag team partners during his time in WWE. But between 2016-17 he did team with Sheamus multiple times when they were both part of the League of Nations faction.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/04\/15\/sheamus-returns-to-wwe-raw-tonight\/\" target=\"_self\">Sheamus<\/a> hasn&#8217;t had a match on WWE Raw since January so needs a refresh. A dominating team with Rusev could be perfect for him.<\/p>\n<p>Rusev and Sheamus seem to have a friendship outside of the ring. Sheamus has often shared images of the two drinking, working out or travelling together.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ep.68 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CelticWarriorWorkouts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CelticWarriorWorkouts<\/a> now live with @RusevBUL doing a Dr. Pump \u2018BFR\u2019 Workout &amp; Busting My Chops for 30mins. See it: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cED8vAitVD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/cED8vAitVD<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1ww61OvAoU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/1ww61OvAoU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sheamus (@WWESheamus) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWESheamus\/status\/1100172050633814017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 25, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Joe Hendry <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Social media has been <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a buzz<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> with people giddily sharing pictures of Rusev and his former diplomat Joe Hendry<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Hendry <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">made an enhancement talent appearance for WWE acting as a lawyer for Rusev <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">in 2014<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Since <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">then<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Hendry has become one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/26\/tna-wrestling-press-pass-with-joe-hendry-report\/\" target=\"_self\">hottest talents not signed to WWE<\/a><\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> TNA World Heavyweight Champion even appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/20\/wwe-wrestlemania-41-randy-orton\/\" target=\"_self\">WrestleMania <\/a><\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">41<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">where he faced<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Randy Orton.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hendry is too interesting for WWE not to take on full-time<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Teaming<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> him with Rusev as a hat-tip to their one-night pairing a decade ago is too fun to avoid<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Rusev<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DIxUrTTPvsX\/?img_index=8\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> shared a backstage picture with Hendry<\/a> after his return to WWE Raw.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Perhaps they discussed forming a team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rusev &amp; Lana celebrate their United States Championship conquest: Raw, November 10, 2014\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0DwmrEQAsT4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Otis <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When Otis and Rusev stood across the ring from each other on WWE Raw <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the sheer size caused the crowd to erupt<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Rusev<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> came off better. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A match against the two seems a foregone conclusion <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">but<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> could a pairing also be on the cards?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Otis is one of the most established tag team wrestlers on WWE Raw<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. His current pairing see Otis as a lovable fan favourite as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/12\/10\/join-alpha-academy-wwe\/\" target=\"_self\">Alpha Academy with Akira Tozawa and Maxine Dupr<\/a>i. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Trading<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Tozawa for Rusev and taking a proper shot at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/19\/wwe-wrestlemania-41-new-title-reign-for-the-new-day\/\" target=\"_self\">The New Day<\/a> could be too tempting for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/05\/29\/free-otis-the-wwe-fan-movement-for-otis-to-let-go-of-gable\/\" target=\"_self\">Otis.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">No bread. No water. Just BEEF! \ud83e\udd69\ud83e\udd69\ud83e\udd69<\/p>\n<p>Did <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/otiswwe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@otiswwe<\/a> &amp; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bertkreischer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@bertkreischer<\/a> just become best friends&#8230;? <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wdQTf2uEzS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wdQTf2uEzS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1909406438939619636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on WWE and other stories from around the world of <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wrestling,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> as they develop<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">You<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">major<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> news in the wrestling world<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, as well as to<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Q0S3gbANWt\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/28\/preview-wwe-raw-4-28-25-guest-gm-tonight-in-kansas\/\" target=\"_self\">Preview: WWE Raw (4\/28\/25) Guest GM Tonight In Kansas<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Preview: WWE Raw (4\/28\/25) Guest GM Tonight In Kansas&#8221; &#8212; Last Word on Pro Wrestling\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/28\/preview-wwe-raw-4-28-25-guest-gm-tonight-in-kansas\/embed\/#?secret=zZI4qjcWp4#?secret=Q0S3gbANWt\" data-secret=\"Q0S3gbANWt\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rusev made his much-anticipated return to WWE after five years on WWE Raw after WrestleMania. Many were left scratching their heads when he chose to return to disrupt an impromptu World Tag Team Championship match between The New Day and The Alpha Academy. Perhaps, this was a totally random decision for Rusev to walk through [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3852,"featured_media":134586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,3],"tags":[246,5380,202,399],"class_list":["post-134585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raw","category-wwe-universe","tag-joe-hendry","tag-otis","tag-rusev","tag-sheamus"],"modified_by":"Laurence Gibbons","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3852"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134587,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134585\/revisions\/134587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}