5 Opponents Rusev needs to face after making WWE return

Absent from TV for a long time, Rusev made his return to WWE on Raw this week, and while the return was rather underwhelming, The Bulgarian Brute is finally back on television.

Rusev returned to Raw under odd storyline circumstances, as earlier in the night, Maria Kanellis revealed she will be having a baby boy, and then informed her husband Mike Kanellis that the father of the child is WWE star Ricochet. After later admitting that Ricochet is not the father of her child, Maria then hit the entrance ramp and announced the real father, after which Rusev's music hit.

It remains to be seen in which direction WWE will be going with Rusev as the potential father, as the company released a post-SmackDown video during which Rusev remained silent when asked if he is indeed the father of Maria's child.

Still with me? Good.

Now that Rusev is back on television, let's look at five opponents the big man can face in order to make a mark and hopefully challenge for titles in the near future.

#5 AJ Styles

It looks like WWE has brought Rusev back to television as a heel, but it remains to be seen what kind of concrete plans, if any, the company has for Rusev down the line.

With WWE SmackDown readying itself to debut on FOX Sports in October, and a major roster draft set to take place a week after SmackDown's move to FOX, it remains to be seen which brand Rusev will end up on when the dust settles following the draft.

Should both AJ Styles and Rusev remain on the Raw brand, a great first feud on the Monday night brand might be a babyface Rusev vs a heel United States Champion AJ Styles.

An immediate challenge to a top title holder on WWE Raw might be a great way to catapult Rusev back into WWE storylines, that is, if WWE is willing to push a man oftentimes forgotten by the WWE Creative.