Lana dedicates a match to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but her character and that of WWE fighter Rusev may be short-lived.

TWO Russian-themed World Wrestling Entertainment characters have sparked outrage by using the MH17 tragedy as part of their act.

During a televised show in the US on the weekend, WWE star Rusev and his manager Lana referenced the downed plane and hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin to fire up the crowd.

Viewers immediately took to Twitter to express their shock at the insensitive MH17 mention.

Can't believe WWE used Flight MH17 - 'current events' - as cheap heat in the Rusev v Swagger match. That's not cool. #WWEBattleground — Simon Clark (@SimonClark8) July 21, 2014

Are Lana & Rusev seriously making mention of MH17, using it to get heat? I was worried they would, but I'm still shocked. #WWEBattleground — Samuel Preston (@BigBadaBruce) July 21, 2014

Wondered how WWE would handle the MH17/Rusev thing. Didn't expect this. — PolkPanther (@polkpanther) July 21, 2014

What do you think of the WWE stars referencing the MH17 tragedy? Did they go too far? Let us know in the comments section below.