Rusev Is BACK In WWE: Former United States Champion Visits HQ, Re-Signs (WWE News)
It's official: Rusev Day is back in WWE!
Following his AEW release earlier in the year, it appears, as many had predicted, that Miro/Rusev is returning to WWE.
As per PWInsider, Rusev spent yesterday at the WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, being spotted by multiple sources. The outlet adds that, from those they've spoken to about this situation, the Bulgarian Brute has indeed signed with WWE and was at WWE HQ to put his return in motion.
For those wondering, this report adds that CJ Perry/Lana was not with Rusev for this visit. It's also not known at this stage exactly when Rusev will be back on WWE programming, but we do at least now know that, as had been speculated, he is indeed back with the market leader.
Having been released alongside Ricky Starks/Saints and Malakai Black in February, as Miro, the 39-year-old had been with AEW since late 2020. During that time, he most notably had a fantastic 140-day run as the AEW TNT Champion that saw him fully bring his Redeemer schtick to the table. While fans expected Miro to push on into the World Title main event scene after dropping the TNT Title to Sammy Guevara in September 2021, the powerhouse would only work a further 13 matches for the company - the last of which being in December 2023 at Worlds End - before being granted his release.
The Return Of Rusev Day
With the WWE return of Rusev seemingly now a done deal, the throws up all kinds of questions as to how the three-time WWE United States Champion will be used.
Of course, Rusev was previously with WWE from 2010 until 2020, initially starting in Florida Championship Wrestling before that transitioned to NXT. The early days of that NXT run saw Rusev - or Alexander Rusev, as he was named back then - managed by Sylvester Lefort and briefly paired up with Scott Dawson/Dax Harwood. It wouldn't take long for Lana to be put with Rusev, though, and that tandem quickly became one of the most heavily featured acts in NXT.
Following an appearance in the 2014 Royal Rumble, Rusev and Lana were brought to the main roster on the Raw after WrestleMania XXX. Skip ahead one year, and Rusev would walk into WrestleMania 31 as the defending United States Champion against none other than John Cena.
The rest of Rusev's time with WWE saw him be a part of the ill-fated League of Nations, deliver the hugely popular Rusev Day gimmick with Aidan English, and be involved in a couple of horrendous romantic storylines. Despite Rusev Day getting over big-time with crowds across the globe, that momentum was largely ignored by Vince McMahon. With McMahon having long since retired in disgrace, it remains to be seen how Rusev will be utilised in the Triple H-led WWE, particularly when looking back on how the Game used Rusev during his time in NXT, and also how brilliant a job Rusev did when presented as an absolute beast for a spell in AEW.