39 Best Wrestlers From 39 Different Countries

34. Bulgaria: Rusev

british bulldog portrait
WWE.com

Birthplace: Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Rusev’s inclusion here is another one largely by default, with him actually being the only Bulgarian to have competed in the WWE or any major platform. Unlike some others on this list, he’s fortunately a genuinely impressive superstar.

Despite initially being played up as Russian on the main roster, the Bulgarian Brute is now back to pulling on his real roots and origin, championing Bulgaria.

At one point in time, it looked as if Rusev was destined to become a monster main event heel. Then John Cena happened.

Currently stuck in a horrible angle with Summer Rae, Lana and Dolph Ziggler, here’s hoping that Rusev can get himself back on track and do his native Bulgaria proud.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.