This month saw the WWE release and furlough many former talents in an effort to cut costs amidst the pandemic. Among wrestlers that now find themselves with free agent status are Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Aiden English and most surprisingly, Rusev. The former WWE star now finds himself in a very uncertain situation -- or perhaps a path with many new possibilities.
Rusev (real name Miroslav Barnyashev) first debuted for the WWE main roster on the Royal Rumble 2014 event. Then going by the name of Alexander Rusev, the Bulgarian brute quickly made an impact as one of the fastest rising heels at the time. Accompanied by Lana, his ravishing manager and future real-life wife, Rusev soon came into the possession of the United States Championship, beating John Cena to set up a classic "patriot face vs. heel foreigner" feud.
At WrestleMania 31, Rusev came out for his match against Cena riding a tank onto the arena in one of the highlights of his career. But, everything seemed to go downhill for Rusev after that. He lost his belt to Cena, then saw an aimless period on the main roster before being booked in a new faction called The League of Nations. The League flopped, and he soon found himself without a purpose on the main roster once again. One of the fastest rising and most threatening heels on the roster became just another midcarder -- that was, until "Rusev Day."
It appeared Rusev's career was all but a failure at this point and he was destined to become another one of those NXT call-ups who failed to "grab the brass ring" on the main roster. But then Rusev managed to bring himself back into the top of the main roster once again when he proclaimed every day was now "Rusev Day." The catchphrase took the WWE Universe by storm as fans chanted "Rusev Day" throughout his matches even though Rusev was the heel. He was soon partnered up with the charismatic Aiden English, and the two made Rusev Day a glorious occasion together.
But, like anything that gets over in the WWE, this was short lived as creative tore the duo apart and had them feud against each other. Rusev Day was canned, and a few months later the hottest wrestler in the WWE was now in a cuckold angle with Bobby Lashley and his real life wife.
It is tragic to think the WWE career of someone as talented and promising as Rusev ended in such a humiliating storyline. Rusev isn't the only immensely talented wrestler to find themselves squandered on the main roster. However, unlike some others, Rusev now finds himself being gifted an early release. Unlike former WWE stars such as The Revival and Dean Ambrose (aka Jon Moxley), who had to wait out their contract to find an exit from WWE creative hell, Rusev can now immediately get his career back on track once his 90 day non-compete clause is up. Add to this the luck of being released simultaneously with his former partner Aiden English, and perhaps the return of Rusev Day could be right around the corner.
There are plenty of promotions Rusev can go to and rejuvenate his career, but none would be more promising that AEW, the prime destination for wrestlers fed up with WWE booking. AEW's own Jim Ross spoke about Rusev's release, stating "There’s got to be some semblance of a reason that the massive push for him was cut short. I don’t know what that reason is. I’ve never heard any scandalous tales about the guy. I find him to be a soft-hearted, well-raised guy. Meaning he’s polite and he’s a decent human being. Rusev would be my priority. That’s who I’d want to go after first because I can see him having some major pay-per-view main event matches with a variety of top talents in our company AEW. Anyone would be smart to hire him.”
It may be safe to assume Rusev will be talking with AEW soon about a potential contract. Whether Rusev Day finds its new beginning in AEW or elsewhere, it seems certain that the former WWE star will be enjoying a revitalized career very soon.