WWE stars Lana and Rusev were guests on a recent episode of Lilian Garcia’s podcast, “Chasing Glory”. During their appearance, it was revealed that both Lana and Rusev have been removed from the cast of Total Divas. Lana revealed that they initially believed they’d be a “shoo-in” for the next season but were ultimately told the news by producer Kevin Dunn:
“It really sucks. I go through a whole bunch of different emotions. Kevin Dunn is so great. We were first told we were basically a shoo-in, and that we were incredible this season. I was told that he loved me, that Bunim-Murray, which is the production company that produces the show, loved me, WWE loves me, WWE loves us, that we should be working on our spin-off show.”
Dunn divulged that E! executives took a poll and determined Lana and Rusev were not liked by the demographic:
“Kevin Dunn told me that E! Executives took a poll and that we are strongly disliked by the demographic, they do not like us and that I’m hated, we’re hated, and that the E! Executives thought that are stories were very slapstick, and they were a strong no.”
Lana was left very hurt by the news, and she even became angry by it:
“I was shocked. I just sat there. It was like my tryout for WWE all over again. I’ve gone through a lot of different range of emotions. I’ll cry, but when I get hurt, I get really angry. That’s how I deal with hurt, I get really angry. Like, who is this new E! Executive?”
“The Ravishing Russian” then battled through tears and said she told Carrano, maybe she’s simply not a likable person, before noting that editing is a huge misleading factor in how some people are portrayed:
“It’s just that I’m not liked and one part of me is like – and I said that – Mark Carrano and Kevin Dunn was there and I said, ‘Maybe, I’m just not a likable person.’ I know I’m a good person, but maybe I have a boring personality because I’m just not liked.” Dunn and Carrano assured her this wasn’t the case and that much of what comes through the television is due to editing.
“There’s so many things in edit that I was royally screwed over. They take someone saying something from one thing and put it there. In edit they can do whatever they want and that’s out of your control. If they want to make me more annoying and I have to play that annoying girl, they’ll do that.”
Over the course of her time on the show, Lana said there were some things she didn’t like about how she was being portrayed, but she ultimately understood what she signed up for:
“There were some things I got really mad about, but it is what it is. I understand that’s what I signed up for. I understand that when you sign up for reality TV, you have to be ready to be not perfect and I was OK with that.”
Rusev chimed in towards the end, saying he’d start his own show after being rejected:
“I’ll make my own show. Once I get rejected from somewhere or whatnot, I’m moving on.”
H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions
