Details Behind Rusev's WWE Return (WWE News)

With fans anticipating plenty of surprises from last night's Raw After WrestleMania, one such surprise was the WWE return of Rusev.

It had been speculated even before his AEW release was granted earlier this year that the Bulgarian Brute would be making his way back to WWE at some point. Despite initial reports in the immediate aftermath of that release suggesting that the former AEW TNT Champion may not return to WWE until later in 2025, Rusev turned up on Raw last night to lay waste to Akira Tozawa and Otis.

As for the formal details of Rusev's return to the market leader, Deadline notes that the three-time WWE United States Champion has penned a two-year deal. Both that deal and a WWE Legends contract for Rusev's wife Lana, aka CJ Perry, were negotiated through the Paradigm talent agency.

In a statement released to Deadline by Lana, she stated:

"Rusev is back to crush the WWE and become World Champion. We have been cooking this up from our Bulgarian kitchen since the day we left, and with the help of Paradigm, we were able to make this a reality! Machka Crush."

There's no word at this time on whether Lana wil be joining Rusev on-screen at any point soon, although it seems unlikely that the Ravishing Russian won't resurface for at least an occasional appearance on WWE TV down the line.

From Rusev To Miro And Back Again

Having been released by WWE in 2020, Rusev would land in AEW that September under his real name of Miro. After an incredibly mixed start as the Best Man aligned with Kip Sabian, Miro would really get going in AEW when he embraced a more serious approach and became the Redeemer in a run that would see him defeat Darby Allin for the TNT Title.

As God's Favourite Champion, Miro would hold the TNT Championship for 140 days before dropping it to Sammy Guevara on a September 2021 episode of Dynamite. While it appeared that the sky was the limit for Miro and that a run in the AEW World Title picture was in his future following that loss, the powerhouse would only wrestle a further 13 matches for the promotion in the subsequent three-and-a-half years before his release this past February - the last of which being a win over Andrade El Idolo at Worlds End in December 2023.

During these past few years, there have been rumours of Miro turning down certain AEW creative pitches, whilst away from the ring, he and CJ Perry underwent a temporary separation. The two have since renewed their wedding vows, and have also focussed on ventures outside of the wrestling business, such as CJ having a role in the Kevin James-fronted action-comedy Guns Up that releases this June.