As reported before, WWE had Rusev to return to live TV on Tuesday Night’s Smackdown, but for one reason or another, that did not happen. According to backstage reports, the reason for this is the ongoing push on Jinder Mahal as WWE Champion and the “flux” regarding the WWE title match at Backlash between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal.
Additional reports say that once WWE began their title plans for Mahal, the plans to bring Rusev back before Backlash were scrapped. Rusev is still in line for a push upon his return, though it remains unclear when that will be.
The current favorite as of the moment to win The Fatal Five-way Match at Extreme Rules is Seth Rollins. But as is always the case with WWE booking, plans could change all the way up to the match itself.