Rusev returned to the ring on Oct. 16, losing to Joe Hendry at a WWE live event in Honolulu, according to Fightful's live results from the show. The match was Rusev's comeback after a neck injury that has kept him off WWE television since late July.
Rusev has been absent from television since he lost to Je'Von Evans on the July 27 edition of Raw. Wrestling Inc reported on Sept. 4, citing Fightful Select, that Rusev landed awkwardly in that match and felt numbness in his hands. The report said he was placed in concussion protocol, was given several weeks off, and later returned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Fightful Select added that he then fell ill and was waiting on medical clearance, and that he was expected back on television sometime in September.
Before the injury, Rusev had been working tag matches with Ethan Page, Wrestling Inc reported. He also took part in the gauntlet match at SummerSlam that decided the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship, which Chad Gable won.
Page's tag partner has changed in the meantime. Wrestling Inc reported that Big Cass returned on the Aug. 3 edition of Raw and attacked Evans after Evans beat Page in a singles match. On the Oct. 26 Raw, Cass and Page defeated Gable and Dragon Lee, according to Khel Now's Raw results.
Several points are not yet known. WWE has not announced when Rusev will appear on television again, and nothing has been said about whether he will rejoin Page or team with someone else. It is also not yet known whether Rusev has been fully cleared or how his neck held up in Honolulu.
For now, Rusev is wrestling again at live events, with a loss to Hendry in Honolulu as his reported return.
