Rusev Reveals True Reason For WWE Return Following AEW Stint
Before being signed by WWE, Rusev competed in the indies as Miroslav Makaraov.
He was brought into the main roster in 2014, where he won three United States Championships, picking up feuds with top stars along the way, including Sheamus and John Cena.
His release from the company came as part of the budget cuts in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His wife, Lana, however, remained with the promotion till 2021 before being released.
Rusev subsequently joined All Elite Wrestling, where he debuted as Miro on the September 23 episode of Dynamite.
While the Bulgarian jumped ship, hoping for major success, his stint in the company was anything but that.
A combination of injuries and creative disagreements, coupled with booking issues, left him frustrated. Some reports suggest he only competed in 11 matches between 2021 and 2025 before he requested his release.
Rusev Returned To WWE In 2025
Rusev returned for a second stint with the Stamford promotion on the WWE Raw episode following WrestleMania 41.
During the episode’s taping, he attacked the Alpha Academy duo of Akira Tozawa and Otis. He defeated Otis in his first match before starting a long-standing feud with his former stablemate Sheamus.
Their feud culminated in an Old Fashioned Donnybrook Brawl” at Clash in Paris, which the Bulgarian Brute won. Rusev also competed in the 2026 Royal Rumble match, where he was shockingly elimianated after 32 seconds.
The 40-year-old recently sat down with Chris Van Vliet on his Inight podcast where he was asked about the decision behind his WWE return.
Looking back on his frustrating time in AEW, Rusev said that he just wanted to wrestle and be a part of the grind.
“I wanted to wrestle. I wanted to mix it up with the best. I know that the roster is stacked. I don’t remember the last time it was this stacked, but I just want to mix it with everybody. I wanted to wrestle more and more, and all these European tours and everything.
I love all that, I love the grind. Because when we first started, we were five days on the road, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, you go home Wednesday, you’re out on the road again on Friday. And that’s just how life was, as hard as it was, that’s how you get better, just by putting in the work. Because every day you work different towns, you travel.
Now the people can only hear about that and be like, ‘Oh, really, that’s what it was.’ It was so cool. Wrestling, getting beaten up, getting the rental car driving three hours to the next town, getting the hotel, waking up, working out, doing the same thing, makes you feel like a real professional wrestler. I miss the grind.”