Rusev was mainly known for being the Bulgarian Brute on WWE television, but he got to show off a different side of himself on Total Divas.
Lana was one of the main stars of Total Divas seasons six through eight and on those seasons, Rusev became the breakout star with his charm and personality. That charm and personality seemed to backfire to those in WWE.
"I always wanted to be me, I never wanted to pretend. I get it, wrestling is about characters, so I was an evil foreigner and very one dimensional, but I always knew I could do more. At the same time, 'this is my role? Great, I'll play it perfect.' Once I had the opportunity to breakout and show myself, I was ready to do it, because I knew I could do more, and people there who are more multi-dimensional have a lot more longevity than one-dimensional character. That's what I wanted to give, all these characters I did through the years, there was always some kind of change. It's never just the Bulgarian Brute, it was always something different. At the end of the day, the boss didn't like it, I guess [laughs]," Rusev said on The Ryback Show.
He ended by saying, "The office admitted that they should not have let me go on Total Divas. They think that exposed me, but I think it showed my personality. At the end, they said they hated us."
Lana was removed from season nine of Total Divas after they were told by E! executives that they were "strongly disliked." You can find their full comments on being removed from the show by clicking here.
Elsewhere on the podcast, Rusev discussed the 'Rusev Day' chants and Vince McMahon telling him that fans weren't cheering for him, they were mocking him. You can find his full comments on his meeting with Vince by clicking here.
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