WWE appears to be laying the groundwork for a hard-hitting rivalry between two familiar faces, following Rusev’s return to Monday Night Raw after a five-year absence. The Bulgarian Brute made his impact felt immediately on the Raw after WrestleMania 41 by attacking Alpha Academy’s Otis and Akira Tozawa, setting the tone for his aggressive comeback.

Since then, Rusev has been involved in a short-term feud with the duo. He defeated Otis on the May 5 edition of Raw and is currently scheduled to face Tozawa on next week’s show in Tampa, Florida. With many expecting Rusev to easily dispatch Tozawa, speculation has now turned to what might be next for him.

According to PWInsider Elite, there are internal discussions within WWE about a possible program between Rusev and Sheamus for the Raw brand. The idea has reportedly been pitched as a future feud.

While Sheamus has recently been featured in segments with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller of A-Town Down Under, he did interact with Tozawa backstage on the May 12 episode of Raw. In that segment, Sheamus offered Tozawa words of encouragement in his quest to get even with Rusev, subtly connecting himself to the developing storyline.

Outside of the ring, Sheamus and Rusev are known to be close friends. In WWE history, they once teamed up as part of the short-lived League of Nations faction alongside Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio during 2015 and 2016. A potential renewed rivalry could play off both their personal history and past alliance on WWE programming.

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