Rusev On What Brought Him Back To WWE In 2025: I Wanted To Wrestle. I Missed The Grind

After being in AEW from November 2020, Rusev (Miro in AEW) returned to WWE in April 2025. Rusev had been off AEW television for the entirety of 2024, last stepping in the ring in December 2023.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Rusev was asked what brought him back to WWE.

“I wanted to wrestle. I wanted to mix it up with the best. I know that the roster is stacked. I don’t remember the last time it was this stacked, but I just want to mix it with everybody. I wanted to wrestle more and more, and all these European tours and everything. I love all that, I love the grind. Because when we first started, we were five days on the road, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, you go home Wednesday, you’re out on the road again on Friday. That’s just how life was, as hard as it was, that’s how you get better, just by putting in the work. Because every day you work different towns, you travel. Now the people can only hear about that and be like, Oh, really, that’s what it was. It was so cool. Wrestling, getting beaten up, getting the rental car driving three hours to the next down, getting the hotel, waking up, working out, doing the same thing, makes you feel like a real professional wrestler. I missed the grind,” he said.

Rusev has wrestled 33 matches since returning to WWE, including live events. He wrestled 36 total matches during his time in AEW.

Rusev was off WWE television for two months before returning in the men’s Royal Rumble.