Wrestlers today come from all over the world to compete on the biggest stage in the world – Rusev is no exception. The Bulgarian’s body structure and muscle mass should come as no surprise, especially when it is discovered that he was a powerlifter and rower before wrestling.
Rusev will be under contract with WWE from 2018 and will fight under the SmackDown brand. For his efforts, he has won the US championship twice. The Bulgarian mass fighter has established himself as one of the most popular figures within the promotion. This is despite the fact that he almost always plays heel.
Rusev’s Biography (Age)
Rusev was born on 25 December 1984 in Plovdiv, the second-largest city in his home country. His real name is Miroslav Barnyashev. Miroslav’s sporting history began when he enrolled in a sports school. This led to his taking part in rowing and powerlifting after school in later years.
In his quest to become a professional wrestler, Miroslav moved to the United States, where he eventually began training at the Knox Pro Wrestling Academy in Torrance, California.
From 2008, the Bulgarian wrestled under independent promotions such as New Wave Pro Wrestling and Vendetta Pro Wrestling before signing a professional contract with the WWE in September 2010.
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Pro Wrestling Career and Injury
Until July 24, 2014, Rusev fought under the name Alexander Rusev in the development area of WWE, the Florida Wrestling Championship (from 2012 under the name NXT). Here he suffered several injuries but was able to record victories against the most important wrestlers on the list such as Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Sin Cara.
The Bulgarian powerhouse made its debut in April 2014 at a Royal Rumble event. He then achieved high-profile wins against players like Mark Henry, R-Truth, Big Show, Zack Ryder, and Sheamus. His victory over Sheamus took the wrestler’s US Championship title away from him. In defensive matches against Jack Swagger and John Cena he successfully defended the title. Finally, he lost it in WrestleMania 31 against Cena after 146 days of his reign.
After the end of the cooperation with his manager Lana, who had been with him since his NXT days, Rusev suffered a broken foot in a game against Ryback, which made it impossible for him to participate in the Intercontinental Championship, which was still free at that time. However, he subsequently defeated Cesaro and Kevin Owens in a triple threat match to get a chance to challenge John Cena. He won Cena by disqualification after Owens attacked him during the fight.
After a historic relationship with his wrestling colleague Summer Rae, Rusev became engaged in real life to his former Lana. This led to his television romance with Rae ending in an episode of Raw on October 12, 2015.
Rusev won his second US championship title on 22 May 2016 at the Extreme Rules event – he won Kalisto by submission. The Bulgarian successfully defended the title against Titus O’Neil, Kalisto, Cesaro, Zack Ryder, and Mark Henry in various pay-per-view events. Roman Reigns finally took the title from him after defeating the Bulgarian in the Clash of Champions on 25 September 2016, ending his 126-day reign.
After a brief alliance with Jinder Mahal, Rusev and Lana disappeared from the competition to allow the wrestler to undergo surgery for an injury he had sustained.
Rusev, who was drafted to the Raw mark in the 2016 WWE Draft, was transferred to SmackDown in the 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up on April 11, 2017. Here he had a thoroughly published feud with Randy Orton. By June 19, 2018, he had recorded fights with the likes of The Undertaker, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and Daniel Bryan.
The towering fighter has also appeared in a number of WWE games and made his debut as a playable character in WWE 2K15.
Rusev Wife (Lana)
As already mentioned, Rusev was engaged to his manager Lana in 2012. Apart from being his manager and “social ambassador”, Lana – her real name is Catherine Joy Perry – is also a professional wrestler, actress, singer, model, and dancer. She once belonged to a group of singing girls known as No Means Yes. The group was signed to the record company of singer Ne-Yo. They disbanded in 2010. Rusev and Lana were married in July 2016, and they live in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Net Worth – How Rich Is Rusev?
The pioneer fighter joined WWE in 2014 and since then, according to various sources, he has been rumored to earn between 250,000 and half a million dollars a year. His net worth is estimated at one million dollars.
Rusev’s Height and Other Facts
1. The Bulgarian stands at a reasonable height of 1,83 m (6 feet) and has a bodyweight of 138 kg (304 lb)
2. The WWE wrestlers come from all over the world, but Rusev is the first from his home country Bulgaria to sign on the platform
3. During his early wrestling days, he was trained by the WWE greats Gangrel and Rikishi
4. Rusev fought without protection for his feet, except for ankle socks. However, after he broke his foot during one of his injury periods, the fighter decided that shoes were a good idea after all.
5. He has been active in various wrestling stables throughout his career. Among the most popular are The Fighting Legionnaires during his time with NXT and The League of Nations during his time with Raw.
