Rusev is happy being himself in whatever way he can do that.
The Bulgarian Brute has been positioned as a heel for the majority of his wrestling career. The ‘Rusev Day’ era was a notable exception, but he’s basically been a villain for most of his time in WWE and AEW.
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard spoke with Rusev at WrestleMania 42 media day and asked about a potential babyface run in wrestling. Pritchard noted that Rusev’s gaming YouTube channel resonated because it allowed him to make a different connection with fans. The WWE star says he’s happy showing both sides. However, it seems like he prefers to keep them separate right now.
“I think I just love being myself, whether that’s building computers at home or playing video games, or kicking ass in the ring,” Rusev said. “So my job here to kick ass in the ring, that’s what you get to see. But once I’m out of here and I don’t have to think about hurting people, I can go and be the happy-go-lucky guy [outside of the ring].”
Rusev Day wasn’t even supposed to get over, either
During a recent interview on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Rusev said the infamous “Rusev Day” angle was not supposed to go over the way it did. According to the WWE star, this allowed him to relax his stance as a heel and fans embraced it.
“It was just supposed to be a celebration and here’s the key from the mayor of Plovdiv, my hometown. And it just worked for some reason, I was a heel. But then I started to relax a little bit, show more of my personality. And I guess people started buying that. Then Aiden [English], of course, Aiden is such an essential part of this, with the songs, with introductions, with everything. Without him, probably wouldn’t even be the same.”
Rusev competed in the six-man Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 42. Penta went on to retain his title; check out everything that went down at night two of WrestleMania 42 here.
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