Kevin Owens replacing Rusev on the WWE main roster

With prospects of a quick recovery looking bleak for Rusev, WWE Creative suddenly has an opening for a young heel who moves surprisingly well for his size.

Luckily, that guy has already been hanging around Raw setting up a program with John Cena for Elimination Chamber.

According to PWInsider.com, Kevin Owens is sticking around the main roster through the end of July. He has not been added to June's Money in the Bank pay-per-view (PPV), but he is being advertised for July's Battleground (along with Brock Lesnar).

Beginning with the dark match main event to the June 8th Raw in New Orleans, he's scheduled to work a six-man tag match with WWE champ Seth Rollins & either Big Show or Kane against Cena, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose.

Rusev tentatively begins reappearing on the schedule with August 3rd's Raw in San Jose, California, but whether that's based on any kind of medical opinion or WWE simply hasn't made changes that far out yet is unknown.

Owens still has active programs in NXT, but that brand's taping schedule shouldn't interfere with working live events and televised dates for the main roster. It might not even remove him from NXT house shows, although the company may have some decisions to make in that regard.

Either way, it looks like the ascent of one of the fastest rising stars in the company isn't slowing down any time soon.

UPDATE:

The Wrestling Observer (subscription required but recommended) is reporting that Owens has signed a new, main roster deal with WWE. The plan is for him to remain on NXT for the next few months to transition his character off that show, but he is booked for all episodes of Raw going forward and will be added to the full house show schedule as NXT's needs allow.