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The character of Rusev was almost insert to theWWEUniverse far other than than how he debut . Miroslav Petrov Barnyashev is better known for play the role of " The Bulgarian Brute , " Rusev , on WWE television . More latterly , he was simply Miro , " The Redeemer , " on All Elite Wrestling . PWInsiderwere able to corroborate that , as of February 2025 , he ’s officially a free broker , allowing him to sign with another grappling company .
As fans speculate about Barnyashev potentially resurface in a WWE ring as Rusev , it ’s worth remembering that when he first debuted for the company onscreen , Rusev was almost a genie character . This was something that Barnyashev alludes to in anInstagrampost , and expands upon in a story told on the " Rusev & Lana " episode of Chris Jericho’sTalk is Jerichopodcast released in 2017 .
Barnyashev ’s WWE surely would have been very different had he agree to a djinny gizmo , but one has to wonder how likely it would be for this genie character to return under the Rusev namesake .
Dusty Rhodes Pitched Rusev A Genie Gimmick in WWE & Made Him Do Promos For 3 Weeks
How Close Was Rusev to Becoming the Bulgarian Genie of WWE?
As he explains as a guest onTalk is Jericho , the then - WWE Superstar is asked aboutDusty Rhodes ' contribution to his career . Before his untimely passing in 2015 , " The American Dream " had long been hit the hay , and Virgil Riley Runnels Jr detect a new lifespan put to work backstage in WWE ’s developmental soil , FCW ( now NXT ) , avail incoming rookies ameliorate their wiliness as both a booking agent and producer . When ask if there were any sorry pieces of advice given to him around the 39:15 - minute mark of the audio podcast , Barnyashev had this to say :
He tried to make me a jinni … I remember , I follow home to Bulgaria , first time in a long time , and I was like , ' man , ' I ’m just gon na go out there [ in a totally fresh direction ] because I used to wear a singlet … I started throwing my paw up like Tong Po in my favorite movie , Kickboxer … I took pretty much his whole stuff and applied it to me . And I came back , put on this fancy gear - not fancy , like shorts with the little matter . And Dream retrieve that I looked like a genie , so he made me do genie promos for the next three hebdomad . He had the lamp and this kickboxing doll that we had at the prison term in FCW , she rubbed the lamp , and I appear .
It took one of the coach down in developmental , Bill DeMott ( well known to WCW fan as Hugh Morrus ) to approach Barnyashev and necessitate , " What are you doing ? " Barnyashev ’s response was , " I ’m just following counselling . “John Cena ’s future WrestleMania opponentis then tell he needs to respectfully tell Runnels that he does n’t want to intrust to this gizmo , to which he did . As an alternative , Runnels ' next idea was for him to play like Arnold Schwarzenegger , by essentially having broken English and looking intimidating . Combining that commission with Barnyashev ’s Bulgarian backgroundpaved the way for excogitate Rusev .
Rusev May Be Heading Back To WWE
Is the Genie Gimmick Worth Resurrecting for Rusev’s WWE Return?
With Barnyashev having reciprocally parted ways with AEW , that leaves his schedule widely heart-to-heart for a WWE issue . As Rusev , he achieved a vast amount of success , including three reigns as United States Champion , an undefeated run , and an vastly popular Rusev Day gimmick . Between Rusev Day and the Bulgarian Brute gimmick alone , it ’s safe to assumehe wo n’t be testing the amnionic fluid on the untested genie gimmick . It ca n’t be understated that one bad theme from Runnels does not put into motion the genius that the legendary Dusty Rhodes systematically brought to the table .
Despite WWE ’s Elimination Chamber change wrestling history , turning John Cena heel reportedly was n’t The Rock ’s original plan .
As Dusty Rhodes , Runnels was one of the best wrestlers tonever win the WWE Championship , and like that context , itdoesn’t take away his fabled condition . He was just as much of a great booker as he was a peachy wrestler , hence why the classic " Dusty Finish " booking trope was named after him . That being said , not every idea is a home run , and Rusev the Genie was a girl . Had Rusev been foretell up to the main roll with a sillier genie gimmick as opposed to the brutish Russian invader , he in all probability would ’ve had a hard prison term achieving success inWWE .
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