Is Rusev Still In WWE?

Is Rusev still in WWE? That’s a question that many fans have been asking lately, and we’re here to answer it.

Introduction

Rusev, whose real name is Miroslav Barnyashev, is a Bulgarian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand.

Rusev made his professional wrestling debut in 2008 and spent several years wrestling in various independent promotions in Bulgaria and Turkey until he was signed by WWE in 2010. He was assigned to their developmental territory NXT, and made his main roster debut in 2014. He won the WWE United States Championship twice and the WWE Tag Team Championship once with fellow Bulgarian wrestler Lana. Rusev has also competed at events such as WrestleMania and SummerSlam.

In 2019, Rusev entered into a storyline on SmackDown Live where he became estranged from Lana after she began a relationship with Bobby Lashley. The story culminated in a match between the two at WrestleMania 35, which Rusev lost. After being absent from television for several months, Rusev returned to WWE programming in November 2019, aligning himself with Lashley and Lana once again.

Rusev’s Departure from WWE

On April 15th, 2020, it was announced that Rusev was released from his WWE contract. This came as a shock to many fans, as Rusev was one of the most popular Superstars on the roster. Rusev had been with WWE for six years, and it was thought that he would be with the company for many more years to come.

Rusev’s Release from WWE

It was reported on April 15th, 2020 that Rusev’s contract with WWE had expired and he was subsequently released from the company.

This came as a surprise to many fans as Rusev was still an active wrestler on WWE programming, most recently appearing on the March 9th, 2020 episode of Monday Night Raw.

Since his release, Rusev has not made any public comments about his time in WWE or his future plans.

Rusev’s Last Match in WWE

Rusev’s last match in WWE was on the May 7, 2018 episode of SmackDown Live, where he was defeated by AJ Styles. This was also Rusev’s final match under his WWE contract, which expired on May 21. Rusev had requested his release from WWE in April 2018, but it was not granted. He had been with the company since November 2011 and is a former United States Champion and United States Tag Team Champion.

Rusev’s Return to WWE

Rusev was last seen on WWE television at Extreme Rules in a losing effort against WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. Since then, Rusev has been off WWE television and rumors have been swirling about his status with the company. Let’s take a look at what we know about Rusev’s current status with WWE.

Rusev’s First Match Back in WWE

Rusev made his return to WWE at a house show in Sydney, Australia on October 6, nearly four months after he was last seen on WWE television. The fan-favorite Superstar competed in a Six-Man Tag Team Match, teaming up with The Miz and Seth Rollins to take on The Bar and Dolph Ziggler. Rusev looked to be in great shape and picked up the victory for his team after planting Ziggler with a massive Machka Kick.

Rusev’s Second Match Back in WWE

On September 16, Rusev made his return to WWE television, defeating Zack Ryder. The next night on Raw, Rusev had a rematch with Ryder and was once again victorious. He then began a feud with The Miz, who had been trash-talking Bulgaria on Miz TV. The two had a match at Hell in a Cell, which Rusev won.

Conclusion

Rusev was last seen on WWE television on the March 11, 2020 episode of WWE SmackDown, where he defeated WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn in a non-title match. After the match, Rusev was attacked by Zayn and Bobby Lashley. The following week on SmackDown, Rusev was scheduled to face Lashley in a one-on-one match. However, Lashley was pulled from the match and replaced by Lana’s new client, Liv Morgan. Rusev defeated Morgan in the match.

On the April 1 episode of WWE Raw, it was announced that Rusev had been released from WWE.