Miroslav Petrov Barnyashev (Bulgarian: Мирослав Петров Барняшев, [miroˈslɑf pɛˈtrɔf bɑrˈnjɑʃɛf]; born 25 December 1985) is a Bulgarian and American professional wrestler and actor. As of April 2025, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rusev. He is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2020 to 2025, where he performed under the ring name Miro.
Barnyashev signed a contract with WWE in 2010 and was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which was rebranded as NXT in 2012. He performed on NXT until 2014, when he and his manager Lana were moved to WWE's main roster. During his initial tenure in WWE, he was a three-time WWE United States Champion. He was released by WWE in 2020, joined AEW later that year, and went on to become a one-time AEW TNT Champion before returning to WWE in 2025.
Miroslav Petrov Barnyashev was born on 25 December 1985 in Plovdiv, which was then part of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. He attended a sports school and later competed in powerlifting, rowing, and sambo.
In the mid-2000s, aspiring to become a professional wrestler, Barnyashev left Bulgaria for the U.S. He originally lived in Virginia before relocating to Torrance, California, where he began training as a wrestler under Gangrel and Rikishi at the Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy. Barnyashev debuted in the San Diego, California-based independent promotion New Wave Pro Wrestling on November 22, 2008, under the ring name "Miroslav Makaraov", defeating Aerial Star. In 2010, Barnyashev joined the Santa Maria, California-based independent promotion Vendetta Pro Wrestling (VPW), shortening his ring name to "Miroslav". While wrestling for VPW, he was managed by Markus Mac.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2010–2020)
Developmental territories (2010–2014)
In September 2010, Barnyashev was signed to a contract by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He was assigned to WWE's Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental territory in Tampa, Florida, where he adopted the ring name Alexander Rusev. He wrestled his first televised match on the July 17, 2011, episode of FCW, defeating Mike Dalton while being managed by Raquel Diaz. Shortly after debuting in FCW, Rusev tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his meniscus and spent six months rehabilitating.
Rusev returned to FCW in March 2012 with Nick Rogers as his manager. In the summer of 2012, Rusev suffered a broken neck, temporarily paralyzing his arm. While rehabilitating, Barnyashev travelled to Thailand, where he studied the martial art Muay Thai. In August 2012, WWE rebranded FCW as NXT.
After his neck healed, Rusev made his NXT television debut on the May 29, 2013 episode, competing in a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship that was won by Bo Dallas. Rusev wrestled his first singles match on the August 21 edition of NXT, losing to Dolph Ziggler. Shortly thereafter, Rusev adopted Sylvester Lefort as his manager and formed a short-lived tag team with Scott Dawson named "The Fighting Legionnaires"; they feuded with the team of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. On the October 30 episode of NXT, Rusev ended his affiliation with Lefort by attacking him during a tag team bout.
Rusev proceeded to adopt Lana as his "social ambassador", a pairing compared by WWE to Ivan and Ludmilla Drago from the 1985 film Rocky IV. In matches taped before his main roster debut, Rusev defeated main roster wrestlers Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Sin Cara in singles matches, which aired on NXT in January and February. Rusev continued to appear sporadically on NXT after joining the main roster in April 2014, making his final appearance on July 24, getting disqualified against NXT Champion Adrian Neville in a non-title match.
United States Champion (2014–2015)
Rusev made his main roster debut at the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, where he was the sixth entrant in the Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by the joint effort of four other wrestlers. After months of self-promotional videos and speeches by Rusev and his manager Lana, Rusev's return match on the main roster came on the April 7 episode of Raw, where he squashed Zack Ryder. In May, Rusev adopted a Russophillic, anti-American gimmick that saw him announced as having relocated to Russia, and as having been named "Hero of the Russian Federation". This angle brought Barnyashev much legitimate heat in his native Bulgaria. In the same month, his ring name was shortened to simply Rusev.
Over the next several months, Rusev feuded with Xavier Woods and R-Truth (whom Rusev defeated at Extreme Rules on May 4 in a two-on-one handicap match) and Big E (whom he defeated at Payback on June 1 and at Money in the Bank on June 29), Jack Swagger (whom he defeated at Battleground on July 20 and again at SummerSlam on August 17), Mark Henry (whom he defeated at Night of Champions on September 21) and Big Show (whom he defeated at Hell in a Cell on October 26). Lana dedicated Rusev's string of victories to President of Russia Vladimir Putin, drawing attention from the mainstream press – including The Washington Post and The Daily Beast – and criticism after she was interpreted as having referred to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 before Rusev's match at Battleground in an attempt to generate heat. On the October 6 episode of Raw, Rusev and Lana were confronted by The Rock in a surprise appearance, with The Rock driving Rusev from the ring after a verbal exchange.
On November 3, Rusev gained his first professional wrestling championship and became the first Bulgarian-born champion in WWE history when he won the United States Championship from Sheamus in a post-Raw match that aired on the WWE Network and proceeded to defeat him in a rematch via count-out. At Survivor Series on November 23, Rusev competed in a 10-man Survivor Series match as part of Team Authority but he was eliminated from the match by countout. Rusev and Jack Swagger once again feuded in December, leading to Rusev successfully defending the United States Championship against Swagger at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14. At the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, Rusev entered the Royal Rumble match at number 15, eliminating six other contestants and placing second overall before being eliminated by Roman Reigns. At Fastlane on February 22, Rusev successfully defended the United States Championship in a bout with John Cena. Rusev lost the United States Championship to Cena in a rematch at WrestleMania 31 on March 29 after a miscommunication with Lana, ending his reign at 146 days and marking his first pinfall loss on WWE's main roster.
The League of Nations (2015–2016)
Rusev failed to regain the championship the following month at Extreme Rules on April 26 in a Russian Chain match; during the match, Lana garnered a positive reaction from the crowd, leading to Rusev banishing her from ringside and causing dissension between the two. Rusev lost to Cena once more at Payback on May 17 in an "I Quit" match after Lana conceded the match on his behalf. The three pay-per-view losses in a row irreversibly damaged the air of power Rusev had built up, leading to TheSportster labeling it as a burial. On the May 18 episode of Raw, Rusev ended his affiliation with Lana, who slapped him in response. On the May 25 episode of Raw, Rusev reverted to being billed from Bulgaria and began carrying the flag of Bulgaria to ringside. Later that same evening, Rusev unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile with Lana. Three days later on SmackDown, Rusev suffered a fractured foot in a bout with Ryback, rendering him unable to compete in the Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber on May 31. Despite his injury, Rusev still appeared on television and made further attempts to reconcile with Lana. Lana then began a storyline relationship with Dolph Ziggler, while Summer Rae began an alliance with Rusev. On the June 29 episode of Raw, Rusev and Rae confronted Lana and Ziggler, leading to a fight between Rae and Lana. On the July 6 episode of Raw, Rusev and Rae once again confronted the couple, which turned out to be a ruse, as Rusev viciously attacked Ziggler after hitting him with his crutch and removed his ankle brace, revealing that his foot injury had healed. The attack resulted in Ziggler sustaining a bruised trachea in storyline and out of action indefinitely.