Speaking during a new interview with Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, Miro has said that he became a “circus bear” during his time with WWE.
Miro, then known as Rusev, originally signed with WWE back in 2010. The ‘Bulgarian Brute’ as he was billed, debuted with NXT in May 2013.
After a successful stint on the black and gold brand flanked by Lana, Rusev won the WWE United States Championship on three occasions.
However, after an on-screen split from wife Lana and a slow slide down the card, the Bulgarian left WWE in April 2020.
Rebranded as Miro, the star debuted with AEW just a few months later. In recent weeks, Miro has become something of an unstoppable force, dethroning Darby Allin to win the TNT Championship.
During the new interview, Miro discussed his time with WWE, commenting that they turned him into a “circus bear.” The Bulgarian explained that the more than he said ‘yes’ to storylines, the more “crap I had to eat.”
“I’m good. I always knew I’m good. This is the problem with me, I’m good at everything. So if you give me something, I’ll make it the best (of it) and that’s the problem. I won’t be happy until I’m the talk of the whole business, of course. But somewhere along the lines, and this is going to tie it into it, I kept saying yes. I became this circus bear. I was a killer. I came in 2013-14 (to NXT) and killed everybody and then they gave me a little bit of something else. I showed how good I was at that, too. I became like a circus bear. The more I said yes, the more crap I have to eat. I said yes to the wedding and yes to the dancing and yes to this and that, but that’s not who I am, man.
You have to go through these moments until you finally reach your destination. I wouldn’t change a single step. I’ll take the weddings. I’ll take everything because it leads me to my destination and now being the TNT champion.”
Elsewhere in the conversation Miro revealed that the AEW version of his character is the version of himself that he he always wanted to be.
“There is no other version, this is me. I finally have the opportunity to show how real I am and people click with that and people see it. It’s an easy thing to do for me to just be out there and be myself and do what I do best.”
At AEW Double or Nothing Miro will defend his newly won TNT Championship against Lance Archer. On the most recent episode of Dynamite, Miro eased passed Dante Martin as he prepares for his clash with the Murderhawk.
AEW Double or Nothing Full Card
- Kenny Omega vs. Pac vs. Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship.
- Cody Rhodes as “The American Dream” for one night only vs. Anthony Ogogo.
- The Casino Battle Royale for a future AEW World Championship opportunity.
- ‘Hangman’ Adam Page vs. Brian Cage.
- Miro vs. Lance Archer for the AEW TNT Championship.
- The Stadium Stampede match between The Pinnacle and The Inner Circle.
- Sting & Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page.
- The Young Bucks vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston for the AEW Tag Team Championship.
AEW Double or Nothing will be available to watch live May 30th via the FITE app. While Inside The Ropes will have full live coverage of the event both on ITRWrestling.com and the Inside The Ropes Twitter Account.