CJ Perry reflects on how her pro-Russia gimmick was used by Vince McMahon for political commentary.
Shortly after being called up to WWE’s main roster, Rusev and Lana adopted a pro-Russia gimmick which featured the pair dedicating matches to Vladimir Putin. Before the bell rang, fans would often hear Lana take to the microphone to endorse Putin as a strong leader, heavily playing on politics to draw heat from crowds. Now, the star has looked back on beginning life on RAW and SmackDown as ‘The Ravishing Russian’.
Speaking with TMZ’s Inside The Ring, CJ Perry (FKA Lana) recently reflected on her pro-Russia gimmick, discussing how Vince McMahon used it for political commentary.
“Vince wrote my promos. He was very, especially the Russian stuff, he was absolutely hands on writing everything. I think he was using me as his puppet to talk about America because once Trump became president, he sat me and Miro down. He’s like, ‘Okay, no more politics, it’s too polarizing and controversial.’ He was using me as his puppet. And I was making global news. Vince thought it was the most hysterical thing. There’s one clip that I like throw to it, and they cut to Obama working out, like these little eight pound stuff. And then I’m like, ‘Unlike a real man’ and I cut to Vladimir Putin. It’s him doing judo and riding a horse and shirtless. I understand like Vince just could identify more with Putin because Vince, he’s lifting 650 pounds at 75. He wanted Vladimir Putin to come to a show. He’s like, ‘I hope he’s going to come.’”
-CJ Perry
While Perry hasn’t appeared on-screen since her time with AEW back in 2023, the 40-year-old is now back under contract with WWE having signed with the company around the time of Rusev’s return earlier this year.
While talking to TMZ, she touched on her surprise at being offered a legends deal. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on CJ Perry as soon as we hear more.
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