Early career (2008–2010) In the mid-2000s, aspiring to become a
professional wrestler, Barnyashev left Bulgaria for the U.S. He originally lived in
Virginia In 2010, Barnyashev joined the
Santa Maria, California-based independent promotion Vendetta Pro Wrestling (VPW), shortening his ring name to "Miroslav". While wrestling for VPW, he was
managed by Markus Mac.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2010–2020) Developmental territories (2010–2014) In September 2010, Barnyashev was signed to a contract by
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Shortly after debuting in FCW, Rusev tore both his
anterior cruciate ligament and his
meniscus and spent six months rehabilitating. In the summer of 2012, Rusev suffered a
broken neck, temporarily
paralyzing his arm. While rehabilitating, Barnyashev travelled to
Thailand, where he studied the
martial art Muay Thai. After his neck healed, Rusev made his
NXT television debut on the May 29, 2013 episode, competing in a
battle royal to determine the number one contender to the
NXT Championship that was won by
Bo Dallas. Rusev wrestled his first singles match on the August 21 edition of
NXT, losing to
Dolph Ziggler. Shortly thereafter, Rusev adopted
Sylvester Lefort as his manager and formed a short-lived
tag team with
Scott Dawson named "The Fighting Legionnaires"; they
feuded with the team of
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. Rusev proceeded to adopt
Lana as his "
social ambassador", a pairing compared by WWE to
Ivan and Ludmilla Drago from the
1985 film Rocky IV. In matches taped before his main roster debut, Rusev defeated main roster wrestlers
Kofi Kingston,
Xavier Woods, and
Sin Cara in singles matches, which aired on
NXT in January and February. Rusev continued to appear sporadically on
NXT after joining the main roster in April 2014, making his final appearance on July 24, getting disqualified against
NXT Champion Adrian Neville in a non-title match.
United States Champion (2014–2015) in April 2014 Rusev made his main roster debut at the
Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, where he was the sixth entrant in the
Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by the joint effort of four other wrestlers. After months of self-promotional videos and speeches by Rusev and his manager Lana, Rusev's return match on the main roster came on the April 7 episode of
Raw, where he
squashed Zack Ryder. In May, Rusev adopted a
Russophillic,
anti-American gimmick that saw him announced as having relocated to Russia, and as having been named "
Hero of the Russian Federation". This angle brought Barnyashev much
legitimate heat in his native Bulgaria. In the same month, his ring name was shortened to simply Rusev. Over the next several months, Rusev feuded with
Xavier Woods and
R-Truth (whom Rusev defeated at
Extreme Rules on May 4 in a two-on-one handicap match) and
Big E (whom he defeated at
Payback on June 1 and at
Money in the Bank on June 29),
Jack Swagger (whom he defeated at
Battleground on July 20 and again at
SummerSlam on August 17),
Mark Henry (whom he defeated at
Night of Champions on September 21) and
Big Show (whom he defeated at
Hell in a Cell on October 26). Lana dedicated Rusev's string of victories to
President of Russia Vladimir Putin, drawing attention from the mainstream press – including
The Washington Post and
The Daily Beast – and criticism after she was interpreted as having referred to the crash of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 before Rusev's match at Battleground in an attempt to generate
heat. On the October 6 episode of
Raw, Rusev and Lana were confronted by
The Rock in a surprise appearance, with The Rock driving Rusev from the ring after a verbal exchange. . On November 3, Rusev gained his first professional wrestling championship and became the first Bulgarian-born champion in WWE history when he won the
United States Championship from
Sheamus in a post-
Raw match that aired on the
WWE Network and proceeded to defeat him in a rematch via count-out. At
Survivor Series on November 23, Rusev competed in a 10-man
Survivor Series match as part of
Team Authority but he was eliminated from the match by
countout. Rusev and Jack Swagger once again feuded in December, leading to Rusev successfully defending the United States Championship against Swagger at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14. At the
Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, Rusev entered the Royal Rumble match at number 15, eliminating six other contestants and placing second overall before being eliminated by
Roman Reigns. At
Fastlane on February 22, Rusev successfully defended the United States Championship in a bout with
John Cena. Rusev lost the United States Championship to Cena in a rematch at
WrestleMania 31 on March 29 after a miscommunication with Lana, ending his reign at 146 days and marking his first pinfall loss on WWE's main roster.
The League of Nations (2015–2016) Rusev failed to regain the championship the following month at
Extreme Rules on April 26 in a
Russian Chain match; during the match, Lana garnered a positive reaction from the crowd, leading to Rusev banishing her from ringside and causing dissension between the two. Rusev lost to Cena once more at
Payback on May 17 in an
"I Quit" match after Lana conceded the match on his behalf. The three pay-per-view losses in a row irreversibly damaged the air of power Rusev had built up, leading to TheSportster labeling it as a
burial. On the May 18 episode of
Raw, Rusev ended his affiliation with Lana, who slapped him in response. On the May 25 episode of
Raw, Rusev reverted to being billed from Bulgaria and began carrying the
flag of Bulgaria to ringside. Later that same evening, Rusev unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile with Lana. Three days later on
SmackDown, Rusev suffered a
fractured foot in a bout with
Ryback, rendering him unable to compete in the
Elimination Chamber match for the vacant
Intercontinental Championship at
Elimination Chamber on May 31. Despite his injury, Rusev still appeared on television and made further attempts to reconcile with Lana. Lana then began a storyline relationship with
Dolph Ziggler, while
Summer Rae began an alliance with Rusev. On the June 29 episode of
Raw, Rusev and Rae confronted Lana and Ziggler, leading to a fight between Rae and Lana. On the July 6 episode of
Raw, Rusev and Rae once again confronted the couple, which turned out to be a ruse, as Rusev viciously attacked Ziggler after hitting him with his crutch and removed his ankle brace, revealing that his foot injury had healed. The attack resulted in Ziggler sustaining a bruised trachea in storyline and out of action indefinitely. in April 2016 Rusev made his in-ring return on the following
SmackDown, wrestling in shoes to avoid further foot injury, defeating
Fandango. On the July 13 episode of
Raw, Rusev answered
John Cena's
United States Championship open challenge. Rusev was then interrupted by both
Kevin Owens and
Cesaro, who also demanded a shot at the title. This resulted in a triple threat match, where the winner would face Cena, which Rusev won after pinning Cesaro, as Owens had left the match early on. Afterwards, Rusev defeated Cena by disqualification, when Owens assaulted Rusev. On the July 16 episode of
SmackDown, Rusev suffered his second loss by pinfall during his tenure on the WWE main roster when he was defeated by Cesaro in a singles match. On the August 17 episode of
Raw, Ziggler returned and attacked Rusev. This altercation prompted a match between Rusev and Ziggler at
SummerSlam on August 23, which ended in a double countout due to interference from Lana and Rae, and after the match, Rusev and Rae brawled with Ziggler and Lana. On the October 5 episode of
Raw, Rae
proposed to Rusev in the storyline, but said he would not marry her until he had won another championship. On October 11,
TMZ reported that Rusev had become engaged to Lana in
real life. Lana then confirmed the engagement and it began being used in the storyline on television, which resulted in Rae breaking up with him on the October 12 episode of
Raw. The entire storyline circulating around the break-up of Rusev and Lana received extremely negative reviews, with many claiming the storyline damaged Rusev's
gimmick. On the October 31 episode of
Main Event, Rusev injured his bicep in a match with Neville, resulting in Neville winning the match via referee stoppage and Rusev being out of action. Rusev returned on the November 23 episode of
Raw, when he attacked
Roman Reigns, and lost to him by disqualification after
Sheamus and
King Barrett attacked Reigns. A week later, on the November 30 episode of
Raw,
Lana returned to the WWE, once again as a
villainess, and reconciled with Rusev, during a
Miz TV segment, and later in the same night, the two joined Sheamus' new stable
The League of Nations. Throughout December, Rusev started a feud with
Ryback, with Lana faking injuries to distract Ryback and help Rusev gain advantage. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, Rusev defeated Ryback by technical submission to end the feud. Also in November, Rusev joined forces with Sheamus, King Barrett and
Alberto Del Rio forming The League of Nations. On the March 14 episode of
Raw, Rusev and Del Rio failed to win the
WWE Tag Team Championship from
The New Day. At
WrestleMania 32 on April 3, The League of Nations defeated
The New Day, but after the match, The League of Nations was attacked by
Mick Foley,
Shawn Michaels and
Stone Cold Steve Austin. Following WrestleMania 32, on the April 4 episode of
Raw, League of Nations members Sheamus and King Barrett were part of a losing effort against The New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championship after Barrett was pinned by
Kofi Kingston, and following the match, Barrett was exiled from the group being called the "weak link", but moments after,
The Wyatt Family went on to attack the remaining members of The League of Nations. On the April 28 episode of
SmackDown, Rusev walked out on Sheamus after Del Rio walked out the both of them, thus disbanding The League of Nations.
Various feuds (2016–2017) On the May 2 episode of
Raw, Rusev won a battle royal by last eliminating
Zack Ryder to become the No. 1 contender for the United States Championship, which he won for the second time by defeating
Kalisto at
Extreme Rules via submission. Rusev defeated him in a rematch on the following week's
SmackDown, after which he was confronted by
Titus O'Neil, whom Rusev defeated at
Money in the Bank to successfully retain the title. Rusev followed this with a successful third title defense against Cesaro and defeated O'Neil on the July 4 episode of
Raw to retain the title. Rusev was then challenged by Zack Ryder, whom he defeated at
Battleground for another successful title defense. In the
2016 WWE draft, Rusev, along with Lana, was drafted to Raw, taking the United States Championship with him. He lost the title at
Clash of Champions against
Roman Reigns after 126 days. Rusev then received his rematch at the
Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in a Hell in a Cell match, which he lost. On the November 21 episode of
Raw, after being locked out of his locker room,
Enzo Amore ran into Lana in the hallway before being angrily confronted by Rusev. Rusev challenged Amore to a match later that night, quickly defeating him. The following week on
Raw, Amore defeated Rusev by disqualification. At
Roadblock: End of the Line, Rusev faced Amore's tag partner,
Big Cass, defeating him by countout. The following night on
Raw, Rusev faced Cass again, this time defeating him by disqualification. That same night, Amore had to attend sensitivity training from the incident on the November 21 episode of
Raw. At the training, Rusev and his new ally,
Jinder Mahal, attacked Amore. On the January 2, 2017, episode of
Raw, Rusev teamed with Mahal in a 2-on-1 handicap match, defeating Big Cass. At
Royal Rumble, Rusev entered the Rumble match at number eighteen, lasting over 20 minutes before being eliminated by Goldberg. On the February 27 episode of
Raw, Rusev and Mahal began to show tension after Rusev inadvertently distracted Mahal, causing the two to lose to The New Day. At
Fastlane, general manager
Mick Foley placed Rusev and Mahal in singles matches that night after Mahal revealed his desire to return to singles competition. Rusev and Mahal both lost their respective matches against
Big Show and
Cesaro. Both Rusev and Lana disappeared from television following Rusev requiring surgery for an injury.
Rusev Day (2017–2018) at
WrestleMania 34 On April 11, Rusev was moved to the
SmackDown brand as part of the
Superstar Shake-up. On the April 25 episode of
SmackDown, Rusev made his first appearance on WWE programming since Fastlane, appearing via satellite, and declared that he would not make his debut on SmackDown unless he was given a
WWE Championship match at the
Money in the Bank pay-per-view on June 18. He was not granted his request, but on the July 4 episode of
SmackDown, he made his first appearance for the brand and confronted the returning
John Cena, setting up a
flag match for
Battleground, which he lost. In August, Rusev started a feud with
Randy Orton and was defeated by Orton at
SummerSlam in 10 seconds. On the September 19 episode of
SmackDown, Rusev got his revenge on Orton by defeating him in the same time, after a distraction from
Aiden English. Soon after, Rusev assumed a new character where he proclaimed that every day was "Rusev Day". This act became incredibly popular with the fans, despite the fact that Rusev played a villainous character. As a result, WWE attempted to suppress positive feedback by editing out "Rusev Day" chants from crowds and reducing Rusev's appearances on television. At
Hell in a Cell on October 9, Rusev lost to Orton again, thus ending their feud. After his feud with Orton, Rusev began a team with English, with the two participating in a
fatal four-way tag team match for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship at
Clash of Champions in December also involving The New Day,
Chad Gable and
Shelton Benjamin and the champions
The Usos, which The Usos won. Rusev entered the
2018 Royal Rumble match on January 28 as the first entrant, lasting over 30 minutes before being eliminated by
Bray Wyatt and
Matt Hardy. On the March 27 episode of
SmackDown, Rusev teamed with Jinder Mahal to defeat
Bobby Roode and Randy Orton, adding him to the United States Championship match at
WrestleMania 34. At the event, Rusev was pinned by Mahal, losing the match. At the
Greatest Royal Rumble event, he faced
The Undertaker in a
Casket Match, but lost. On the May 8 episode of
SmackDown, Rusev defeated
Daniel Bryan to qualify for the men's
Money in the Bank ladder match at
Money in the Bank, which was won by
Braun Strowman. On the following episode of
SmackDown, he won a
gauntlet match to become the number one contender for
AJ Styles' WWE Championship at
Extreme Rules. At the event, he was defeated by Styles. In July, Rusev Day started a feud with
Andrade "Cien" Almas and
Zelina Vega, thus turning them
face in the process for the first time in his career. Rusev and Lana lost a
mixed tag team match to Almas and Vega at
SummerSlam but defeated them in a rematch on the August 21 episode of
SmackDown. At
Hell in a Cell, Rusev and English unsuccessfully faced The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. On the following episode of
SmackDown, English attacked Rusev, ending their alliance. English later claimed to have had an affair with Lana, leading to a match on the October 23 episode of
SmackDown, where Rusev defeated English, ending their feud.
Final storylines and departure (2018–2020) . After failing to win the United States Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura at
Crown Jewel, Rusev finally managed to capture the United States Championship for a third time in his career on the December 25 episode of
SmackDown Live. On January 27, 2019, he lost the title back to Nakamura on the
Royal Rumble pre-show. Two days later on
SmackDown Live, Rusev confronted
R-Truth, who had just defeated Nakamura for the United States Championship, and pushed him into defending his newly won title against him, but Truth retained his title. After the match, Nakamura attacked Truth, and Rusev joined him in attacking Truth, thus turning
heel again in the process and later forming a tag team with Nakamura. On the
Fastlane pre-show, Rusev and Nakamura were defeated by
The New Day. At
WrestleMania 35, Nakamura and Rusev competed in a
fatal four-way tag team match for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful. Rusev competed in a 51-man battle royal at
Super ShowDown, but failed to win. Following Super ShowDown, Rusev began a sabbatical from WWE. Rusev returned on the September 16 episode of
Raw as a face and was involved in a storyline where Lana was having an affair with
Bobby Lashley. Seeking answers for Lana's infidelity, she accused Rusev of being a controlling
sex addict, leading to the two divorcing on the December 9 episode of
Raw, during which Rusev was attacked by Lashley. At the
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event on December 15, Rusev lost to Lashley in a
tables match, following interference from Lana. On the January 13, 2020, episode of
Raw, Rusev lost to Lashley again following an interference from Lana and
Liv Morgan, after the match, a mixed tag team match was scheduled between teams of Rusev and Morgan, and Lashley and Lana. The mixed tag team of Rusev and Morgan was defeated by Lashley and Lana in the January 20 episode of
Raw. Rusev teamed with
Humberto Carrillo in a loss to Lashley and
Angel Garza on the February 17 episode of
Raw. This was Rusev's final appearance in WWE in his first run, as on April 15, he was released from his WWE contract as part of budget cuts stemming from the
COVID-19 pandemic. His real life wife Lana, however, remained with WWE until she was also released over a year later in June 2021.
All Elite Wrestling (2020–2025) Alliance with Kip Sabian; TNT Champion (2020–2021) Barnyashev, now known as Miro, debuted in
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the September 9, 2020, episode of
Dynamite, where he was revealed as
Kip Sabian's
best man for his upcoming wedding with
Penelope Ford. Miro also took on the moniker of "The Best Man", claiming that he was the best at everything he does. In October, Miro and Sabian began feuding with
Best Friends (
Chuck Taylor,
Trent, and
Orange Cassidy), after they accidentally destroyed the arcade game that Miro had purchased for Sabian as a wedding gift. On the November 4 episode of
Dynamite, Miro had his first singles match in AEW, in which he defeated Trent. At the
Beach Break event on February 3, 2021, Miro officiated Sabian and Ford's wedding, but the ceremony was crashed by Taylor and Cassidy. At the
Revolution pay-per-view on March 7, Miro and Sabian defeated Cassidy and Taylor. However, on the March 31 episode of
Dynamite, Miro and Sabian were defeated by Cassidy and Taylor in an
Arcade Anarchy match, marking Miro's first loss in AEW. Following this, Miro attacked and brutalized Sabian to end their alliance. Miro then became more dominant and aggressive in his matches. Miro then began a rivalry with
Darby Allin, and defeated Allin on the May 12 episode of
Dynamite to win the
AEW TNT Championship. He defeated
Lance Archer to retain the championship at the
Double or Nothing event on May 30. He then made successful defenses against the likes of
Evil Uno,
Brian Pillman Jr., Lee Johnson,
Fuego Del Sol, and
Eddie Kingston at
All Out. During this time, Miro furthered his shift in gimmick by adopting the moniker of "God's Favorite Champion", utilising new entrance music, and thanking his dominance in matches to his God during interviews and promos. He also introduced a new championship belt, representing his hometown of Plovdiv; the black leather strap was changed to white, the red banner on the center plate was changed to green, and the inner side plates were changed to feature Plovdiv's coat of arms. On September 29, Miro lost his TNT Championship against
Sammy Guevara, ending his reign at 140 days. In subsequent promos, Miro aggressively questioned the motivation of his God.
Sporadic appearances and departure (2021–2025) Miro returned on the November 3, 2021, episode of
Dynamite, replacing
Jon Moxley in a match against Orange Cassidy in the
AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament; he defeated Cassidy via submission, advancing to the finals of the tournament. At
Full Gear, Miro lost to
Bryan Danielson in the tournament final. In December, it was revealed that Miro was recovering from a hamstring injury. After a six-month hiatus due to injury and outside the ring projects, Miro made his return to AEW television on the June 1, 2022, edition of
Dynamite, scoring a submission victory over
Johnny Elite. At
Forbidden Door on June 26, Miro competed in a fatal-four-way match against
Pac,
Clark Connors and
Malakai Black determine the inaugural
AEW All-Atlantic Champion, with Pac emerging victorious. At the
All Out event in September, Miro teamed with Darby Allin and
Sting to defeat
House of Black in a
six-man tag team match. Following another lengthy absence, Miro made a return on the May 10, 2023 episode of
Dynamite, where he walked into AEW CEO
Tony Khan's office. Miro made his in-ring return on the premiere episode of
Collision on June 17, defeating
Tony Nese in a squash match. Afterwards, Miro started a feud with
Powerhouse Hobbs, which led to a match at
All Out, where Miro defeated Hobbs. After the match, Hobbs continued to attack Miro only to be saved by the debuting
CJ (Miro's wife, formerly known as Lana in WWE). On December 30 at
Worlds End, Miro defeated
Andrade El Idolo with the assistance of CJ in what would be his final AEW match. After that event, Miro went on another hiatus to recover from an injury he had suffered in September 2023. In September 2024, it was reported that Miro had requested his release from AEW, having only wrestled eleven matches since 2021. In February 2025, Miro was reported to have departed AEW. He wrestled his first match in over a year later that month at Qatar Pro Wrestling's event
Super Slam III in
Doha, losing to
Alberto El Patron by disqualification.
Return to WWE (2025–present) Barnyashev, reverting to his Rusev name, made his return to WWE on the April 21, 2025 episode of
Raw, attacking
Alpha Academy. On the May 5 episode of
Raw, Rusev made his in-ring return, defeating
Otis. He then started a feud with
Sheamus, culminating in an "Old Fashioned Donnybrook Brawl" at
Clash in Paris in August 2025 where Rusev defeated Sheamus via submission. At the
Royal Rumble in January 2026, Rusev entered the match at #5, being eliminated by
Oba Femi after 32 seconds. == Professional wrestling style and persona ==