Rusev Claims Vince McMahon Said Fans Were Mocking Him With "Rusev Day" Chants
"Vince told me they were just mocking me, they didn't mean it."
The wrestler once known as Rusev has this week claimed that Vince McMahon unbelievably shot down his "Rusev Day" popularity back in 2017, writing the chants off as a product of "mockery," not genuine adulation for one of the most naturally over acts in WWE.
Miro dived into the matter during a recent appearance on The Ryback Show. He spoke about mirroring Kurt Angle by being a wrestler who could switch seamlessly from serious to comedy, explaining his disappointment at being told to play things straight 100% of the time. Then, he had a conversation with Vince, who said fans were mocking him with the "Rusev Day" chants, adding that they "didn't mean it."
This made Miro feel "defeated" and had him questioning why he was bothering, theorising that WWE would put him on early whenever he was booked so the chants would go away by the end of the night. The next time Vince told him the fans were "f*cking with him," 'The Bulgarian Brute' pointed out that all his shirts had sold out, with McMahon writing this off as a stock issue.
"They didn't know what to do, good guy or bad guy," said Miro. "Come on, man."
Rusev Day remains one of the biggest missed opportunities in recent WWE history. McMahon denying its surge goes a long way to explaining his enduring booking philosophy: if something doesn't get over with his permission, he isn't interested.