5 Things you may have forgotten about Miro fka Rusev

Rusev and Aiden English's wife, Shaul Guerrero, who once worked with Rusev as Raquel Diaz

While Rusev's 10-year-long stint with WWE wasn't filled with fancy accolades, he still had a much more successful career than most of the stars in the company. Rusev signed a contract with WWE in 2010. Initially, he spent a few years on the company's developmental territory, honing his craft before he moved to the main roster in 2014.

Working on two of WWE's marquee brands, Rusev fought multiple big stars and created over a year-long undefeated streak. While that came to an end in an unexpected fashion at WrestleMania 31, Rusev's career following that loss took a major hit. For a while, Rusev got lost on the roster, but he was able to make his comeback through one of the best gimmicks in WWE at the time, Rusev Day.

As witnessed, this particular change in Rusev's character boosted his career and made him one of the most popular stars in the history of WWE. Unfortunately, that didn't last long as Rusev, among many other stars, was let go by Vince McMahon in 2020 due to the financial blow that hit WWE during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Rusev has now inked a deal with Tony Khan's AEW and works as Miro there, the things he did while or before he worked with WWE shouldn't go ignored. Therefore, here are five things you probably forgot about Miro, f.k.a Rusev.

#5 Rusev was the only Bulgarian Superstar in WWE

Rusev was born on December 25, 1984, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Growing up, he developed an affinity for sports. Due to this, he joined a sports school and started competing in rowing and powerlifting. As Rusev started enjoying them, he also tried his hands in soviet martial arts, popular as Sambo.

Surprisingly, Rusev easily grew quite fond of it and decided to make something like that his profession. That's when the Bulgarian Superstar stumbled upon professional wrestling and soon chose to make a future out of it. Within a few months, he emigrated from Bulgaria to America and started his pro-wrestling training.

After struggling for two years, trying to make his name on the independent circuit as Miroslav, Rusev finally caught the attention of some big names in WWE. After impressing them in a tryout match, Rusev signed a contract with WWE in 2010.

While doing so, he not only started his professional career with the biggest wrestling company in the world but also created history by becoming the first and so-far only Superstar to sign with WWE from the country of Bulgaria.