Rusev (@ToBeMiro) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to discuss his journey from Bulgaria to WWE, how he was paired with Lana, wrestling John Cena at WrestleMania 31, and making his entrance in a tank, the success of Rusev Day, being in the League of Nations and taking a Stunner from Steve Austin, the Bobby Lashley and Lana romance storyline, his Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook match with Sheamus in Paris, and more!

It’s crazy that if we were to look at a photo of you when you debuted in WWE and we look at you now, I think to a new wrestling fan, it’d be difficult to explain that’s the same person.

“Yeah, I got this the other day from Roman. We were in Saudi Arabia, and he says, ‘Hey, talking to my kid the other day, and he was like, “Oh, is that Rusev?”‘ So he had to explain that it’s me. We fought all over the world before, and now I’m back. Just look different. But yeah, it’s a bit of a change.”

Let me ask you this, because my son was born on December 17. What’s it like when your birthday is on Christmas, you’re sharing it with Jesus?

“Well, when I was a kid, we didn’t have money, so presents were not always there. But now that I’m a grown-up and I can afford a couple of things, I go to town.”

You talk about growing up and you didn’t have much, what are we talking?

“In Bulgaria in 1996, you see the hyperinflation. People line up. There was no bread, there was no food, there was nothing. You just had to wait, and you might end up going home with nothing. So yeah, when we had nothing, it was nothing. Our electricity was always on and off, on and off.”

What age did you learn English? 

“So I have been interested in America, always been interested in movies and wrestling, obviously, and English. So I signed up in third grade. I signed up for English, which not everybody did, I just loved it. I just loved everything about America, getting myself ready to go.”

What age were you when you moved here? 

“20 years old. So I had to go to college for a little bit so I can do this work and travel thing over the summer. So as soon as I was able to do that, landed here in Richmond, Virginia.” 

Why Richmond?

“So when you sign up for these programs, they give you a job. My first job offering was to paint houses. I’ve never painted anything in my life, maybe at Easter some eggs, that’s about it. But they say, Hey, if you deny it, you may not have another shot. So I was like, I just want to get there. So I came in painting houses, got fired a month later, walked out on the streets because it was a community house for the workers, and after they fired me, they kicked me out, so I was literally on the street a month in with $100 in my pocket.” 

What’d you do? 

“Well, there’s a couple of guys that I met through work, and they were really cool guys, and they accepted me in their apartment, and we lived in a two-bedroom apartment. I think it was six of us sleeping on the floor, whatever you got to do.” 

Were you already training to be a wrestler? 

“No, there was the first month. Then I started working cleaning stores, Dollar General stores, traveling around half of the country with these chemicals, we were cleaning Dollar Generals. I worked in Wendy’s for a week. It was the weirdest place I’ve worked at. Especially with the burger they tell you to draw a W on it. I’m like, ‘Well sir, if you turn it the other way, it says McDonald’s, M for McDonald’s.’ They were looking at me like I was reinventing the hot water. But then it was even embarrassing to go get my check back because I was there for a week, I didn’t call because I was so embarrassed. I didn’t want to go back to work, but I didn’t want to call, Hey, I’m not coming back to work. So that was weird. And then my friend said, ‘Hey, I’m moving to California. I’m gonna drive cross-country with this 1988 Oldsmobile.’ I said, count me in brother, all the dreams are in California. I left, I jump in the car with him, and we drove for three days, I think, to San Pedro, California.”

How long did it take you before you started to get noticed by WWE?

“So I remember getting pulled in the office in the school one day. At this point I’ve been training not even two years, probably. They said, ‘Hey, you may have an opportunity to go with TNA or WWE.’ I said No freaking way. These guys are giants, man. They’re Titans. What am I? A 24-year-old Bulgarian gonna go through that? I just didn’t think it was a possibility. Then I just kept training, kept training, kept training. Then Rikishi pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have this [try-out].’ Because I trusted him, because a lot of people like to go out there and do their own thing. I trusted Rikishi. I trusted his training, trusted Gangrel and his training, and I know that when I’m ready, they’re gonna set me up for success. And they set up a tryout for me. Was 2010 Summer Slam in LA. I went out there with a torn ACL. Had to go through the bathroom, wrap my knee with duct tape because it was giving up. I wrapped the motherf*cker, hiding away from everybody and going to the tryout, almost in a fight with one of the other guys.” 

What do you mean? 

“It was like you’re in and you get in. Then we go in and we work, and this guy, boom, clotheslines me, right in my mouth and my nose. I was like, All right, whatever. Kickout, then work again and again, boom, right in my mouth again. I lay down, all right, cover me. He covered me, and I kick out with my elbow in his face, because I got tired. I get it. We all want a job, but you can’t be just like killing over here, because I’m trying to succeed as well. They stopped us. Then we kept going a little bit. After that, Johnny Ace came and he offered. He said, ‘Hey, do we have any problem relocating to Florida?’ I said, No, sir, I don’t. And yeah, that’s where they offered me a contract, and I had to wait another year to fix my paperwork, because still a little issue with the paperwork situation. So there was another callback that I had to take. There are these people they’re saying, Hey, we’re going to sign you to your dream, it’s about to come true. But then you have to go back and work and everything else, that was so hard. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done is to be like, hey, it’s right here. No, you can’t get there yet. But anyways, everything got arranged in 2011 in March, I believe I went to Florida, to Tampa, to FCW.”

Were you worried at any point? You’ve got this basically agreement that this thing’s gonna happen, but you got to get the paperwork to come through. Are you worried at any point, like, maybe it won’t?

“No, I couldn’t be worried. I just have to stay focused. Because once you start worrying, you start getting distracted and negative thoughts come in. I didn’t want any of that. I just put my head down, keep working hard, keep doing whatever I can, because at the end of the day, when you have a huge desire, when you have a dream, and it’s not like an ill intent, it’s not like, oh, I want to make money to screw with all these guys. It’s not like a bad intent, and you pray to God, he’s always going to be there with you. He’s always going to help you out.”

You were booked so strong once you figured out who Rusev was, how did you develop that character?

“Trial and tribulation. So I was in developmental, after a few months, they found out my knee was broken at my ACL, so I had to get the surgery. So six months. But the American Dream [Dusty Rhodes] always kind of believed in me, even if I’ve never done promos before. In KnokX Pro, I used to train with Rikishi, they never taught us any promos. So now we have back in FCW, on Monday and Tuesday practice and then Wednesday was always promo class. But I’ve never done a promo in my life. It was kind of my first time I went out there did a promo and Dream liked me, the way I talked, I was big, I was able to move. So he gave me an opportunity. Unfortunately, my knee gave out, and we had to go and replace my ACL. I came back, starting climbing a little bit. Two months later, I broke my neck. I don’t even know how I broke my neck. I thought my shoulder was hurt, and I went and got my shoulder checked. He said, Yeah, your shoulder is bad, but your neck is broken. That’s what causes the problem. It was something leaking, blocking some pathway. Couldn’t move my arm, and so I had to repair the neck after that, which is another big setback. I thought after that, I was trying to be realistic, probably gonna fire me, it makes sense. I’ve provided nothing for this company, and besides, they had to pay for all these surgeries. Probably gonna fire me. But I was okay. I was gonna go to Japan or something. I was not gonna give up, for sure. But they didn’t fire me. They call me and they said they are gonna fire me if I don’t show them anything, I think they gave me a month or two to say, hey, we’re gonna give you this time and to show us what you got. If not, we’re gonna have to let you go. No problem at all. I love fighting for something when there’s not just a purpose, but what do you call it, like a goal. They stuck me in a beginner’s class, and I was extra motivated. You’re gonna put me in a beginner’s class? Watch me. So I was just f*cking go, doesn’t matter. I always do everything extra. It doesn’t matter what it is. So I was showing a boom, boom, boom, boom. After the first month, instead of firing me, they gave me an award for the most improved or whatever it was. But once again, I had nothing before that because I wanted to try something else. I went back and watched Kickboxer, I watched Bloodsport. Then all the bad guys that I grew up watching, I love it. So I was like, I’m gonna take something from this guy, something from this guy. That’s why I started changing my stance, my gear, my attitude. I went barefoot, start showing a different thing. And they loved it. They absolutely loved it. I started buying it more and more. Then eventually we moved. We started moving to Orlando, to the new system after Triple H took over, and it was a completely different thing. That probably saved me a lot, because there was such a structure. It was a program. It was you follow it. You go this coach, this coach, this coach. Everybody had a different level. It’s not just like figure it out. I had thrived in that system. I loved it, and it was very random. It’s not like I was ever prepared for anything. It’s not like anybody was like, oh, Rusev is going to be the next thing. It’s just one day. I had a random match, Dolph Ziggler came to NXT. They volunteered me for their Ziggler match and I haven’t even been on NXT TV at all, nothing. I was just doing nothing. And then I had this match, and Dolph was the nicest man. They wanted him to squash me pretty bad. He’s like, no, that’s not gonna do anything for you or me. We had a match, and let me showcase my moves, and thank God Triple H was there. He noticed it. He’s like, Who’s that kid? And from then on, fast-tracked. Once he saw me, once he saw my big traps, I guess my wild moves, and then they start figuring it out. Then Lana was there at this point, because she just started, so they figured out she can speak Russian. I’m a foreigner in that part of the world. And then they paired us together. We started doing promos. I showed CJ Rocky 4; she’s never seen it, not big into 80s and 90s movies as much as we are. Showed her Rocky 4. We said, This is what we’re doing. We’re gonna take this inspiration, and they loved it. From then, it was not a matter of if, but when.”

Rusev Day was so hot. When did you start to realize that Rusev Day was getting over?

“I don’t know. It was never meant to be over. It was never supposed to be anything. It was just supposed to be a celebration and here’s the key from the mayor of Plovdiv, my hometown. And it just worked for some reason, I was a heel. But then I started to relax a little bit, show more of my personality and I guess people started buying that. Then Aiden [English], of course, Aiden is such an essential part of this, with the songs, with introductions, with everything. Without him, probably wouldn’t even be the same. But just the combo work, man, it was just me having fun and doing the backstage with the New Day, and then the first shirt. Oh my God. They did one shirt of Happy Rusev Day, which is the first one. I remember putting it out in a backstage promo and there’s the huge reaction from the crowd. What? It’s just a shirt. It’s not that big of a deal. But then it just starts picking up steam and people love chanting Rusev Day and celebrating Rusev Day. I got that sweet treatment. I have a beach towel, I have sunglasses now that says Rusev Day. I have all these things that say Rusev Day. I was like, what is happening here? I couldn’t believe it. And then, yeah, we’re just getting over little, little by little. It was a good time, even to this day, Hey, happy Rusev Day.”

Was there ever talk of making you a full babyface?

“I don’t know if there was any direction for it necessarily. I remember I’ve been off TV, and I’ve never been off TV. I remember being off TV for a couple of weeks, and I was like, What is going on? Why are we off TV? Before the shows, these people are chanting Rusev Day, and it’s not like, oh, let me get my sh*t in. I thought it was good for the show. If these people were chanting something, we should give them what they want. That’s why I started fighting for it, hey, let’s do something. Then it was getting a little more traction. But I became a United States Champion.”

Just felt like it could have been so much more.

“A lot of things could be. I went over there, I talked to the boss, and I laid my cards in front of him. Everything I can, I did, but what comes after that? It’s not up to me.”

Every day is Rusev day:

“There was a calendar. I remember January, every day, Rusev Day, Rusev Day… That was one of my favorite things was the calendar.”

What brought you back to WWE in 2025?

“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.”

When you got let go from WWE. Did you think your path would bring you back to WWE at some point?

“Only if I wanted to. Well, look so I got fired. It sucks, right? Nobody wants to get fired, especially in the pandemic. There was just something else. But I jumped right away, I started doing the Twitch thing, because I had the three months no compete and jump on Twitch. I had fun on Twitch. I was making money. I was playing video games. I was having fun. I was gaining my audience, little by little, and that was fun. And then AEW came through, and I started wrestling there. The same thing. I just wanted a short contract, just to feel them out. Everything was great, signed a bigger contract. Then did I ever think I was going to come back to WWE? If I wanted to. I really meant that if I wanted to. If I didn’t want to, I didn’t have to come back. But I love WWE. I love what they’ve made for me, and I love how they’ve taught me since I was a young kid. And I just love the organization.”

You had this moment recently where you scared this little kid in the front row. Did you see the reaction on his face when it happened?

“I did. I did see he panicked, but it was his fault. At the end of the day, it’s like, you can’t blame me for that. I think I met him earlier backstage, and maybe that’s what made him so comfortable. That’s what I keep thinking. But then you can’t just be so comfortable to touch the animals, you can’t reach in the cage. And if your dad didn’t teach you that, your mom didn’t teach you that, I will. I always said don’t touch me kid, and he’s like ah! It was the most shocking face I’ve ever seen. Like before, they used to replay when The Undertaker lost. This is probably the next thing close to it.”

WrestleMania, 31 you’ve got this match with John Cena, US Title on the line. What an entrance. How’d they come up with this idea for you to come out in the tank?

“Manifestation, brother. Manifestation, nothing else. I couldn’t even believe that, because CJ sometimes reminded me, No, we literally took a paper and we just kind of, Oh, what if it’s this, what if it’s this, what if it’s this? We’re not gonna go to [Vince], it’s my first few months. I’m not gonna go, ‘Vince, what about this?’ But then all of a sudden, a few days before the show, they call us in the stadium, oh, there’s a tank. Whoa, there’s the guns. Whoa, there’s a Russian soldier. It was just something, I couldn’t ask for or dream for anything more. And it was all because, like I said, just we thinking about it, manifesting it, and then somehow it’s getting to Vince’s head for him to put it up there.”

What do you think is the biggest thing you learned from John Cena?

“Just timing, take my time. There’s no such thing as a TV match and a live event match, like there’s no such thing as a bad crowd. If they’re not reacting, it’s because you’re not giving them what they want to see. Him listening, ‘Okay, is it a high pitch? Is it low-pitched? Who’s out there tonight? What’s the vibe?’ He’s always there, watching and learning the crowd as much as everything else. Not everything has to be like [fast paced] it’s got to make sense, and it’s got to take your time and listen to the crowd. I think that’s the most important thing. Just listen to the crowd. They’ll tell you what to do.”

League of Nations, they come up with this idea. So it’s Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett and you

“I think they needed somebody for Roman, to be honest. I think that’s how they came up with it. It was not like, oh, we have this great idea for these four guys. I think they needed somebody for Roman to be a babyface, and that’s why they put us together, which was fun. We got a WrestleMania match. I got to eat the stunner from Steve Austin, which was another dream come true.”

The storyline with Bobby and Lana and you, how was this originally pitched to you?

“WrestleMania match. That’s how it was pitched to me. I said, Great, I can deal with that. We just never got there. But it was a good story. I understood the story. It was not my favorite story, but I understood it. And when they told me what the final goal was, I said, All right, that sounds good to me. We have a direction, we have a dip, we have a comeback. We have a good story to finish it.”

This is your wife, and she’s making out with another guy:

“It’s acting, though, it’s nothing else, all these Hollywood people, and she’s the only one. How many other WWE female Superstars have made out with so many people? It’s just part of the business. If you start selling it, of course it’s gonna go bad for you, but as long as you take it just to work, it’s nothing else than just to work.”

Do you think about how much longer you want to wrestle? 

“I said 45 and then reevaluate the body, see how it feels. But so far, I feel great. I haven’t felt that good in a long time, because it’s not like you have matches every day. So the body is way more protected. I take care of my body a lot more. I do a lot of stretching and massages. I eat a lot better. I train a lot smarter. So I just take care of my body, and I know that the body’s going to take care of me.”

What is Rusev grateful for?

“God, my wife and the fans.”

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