“The Bulgarian Brute” is no longer in WWE.
The company announced today that Rusev was the latest wrestler impacted by a string of releases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rusev was a three-time United States champion and had a memorable feud with John Cena that saw them face off at WrestleMania 31. He debuted on the main roster in 2014, got over several times with the crowd as a face, but never got a world title run.
Prior to the official announcement, Rusev thanked the fans:
Thank you All, Rusev out!
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 15, 2020
WWE’s official website now reads:
WWE has come to terms on the release of Kurt Angle, Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev), Drake Maverick (James Curtin), Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona), Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers), Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra), Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson), Heath Slater (Heath Miller), Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz), Rowan (Joseph Ruud), Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe), No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela), Mike Chioda, Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett), Maria Kanellis, EC3 (Michael Hutter), Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt), Lio Rush (Lionel Green), Primo (Edwin Colon) and Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves). We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
