Rusev signed with WWE in 2010 and made his NXT debut two years later. In 2014, the Bulgarian Brute moved to the main roster, where he enjoyed a lengthy undefeated streak and became a three-time WWE United States Champion.
After being released by WWE in April 2020, Rusev—then going by Miro—jumped ship to AEW in September of that year. While he did hold the AEW TNT Championship, it was a largely forgettable run that saw him spend much of the five years he spent there on the shelf.
After leaving AEW this past February, Rusev returned to WWE in April. Now, he's reflected on the time he spent in the company, referring to those five years as "the dead time" in his career.
"The dead time," he said of his lack of in-ring action. "You know, in the past five years, I had what, 20 matches or 30 matches, whatever that is. Before, I had 30 matches in 30 days. It’s the dead time is what sticks out the most."
"We only have this body, only have this age," Rusev continued. "You can’t do this business, you can’t do this job forever, right? So you have to take advantage of it while you’re young. And that’s why sitting on the sides for so long...it’s what stuck out the most."
Explaining that the experience "absolutely" empowers his current, far more energetic run, Rusev recalled a conversation with Jey Uso during a recent match in Japan, where he was wrestling particularly aggressively.
"I had to tell him, 'Hey, I’m going so hard because I’ve had a period of time when you have one match and you don’t know when the next match is coming.' And that’s a very scary situation."
"I’m always taking care of my family, built a house in Bulgaria, my dream home in Bulgaria," he added, revealing the only good thing to come out of the time he spent on the sidelines. "I was able to rest my body, spend a lot of time at home with my wife. I saw my parents. I moved away when I was 20 years old, and I’ve barely seen my parents. So, being able to spend time with them. You can take it both ways, but overall I would like to remember the good parts."
Elsewhere in the interview, Rusev shared his belief that John Cena won't actually stay retired. "I don’t believe it. I’m not holding my breath. I love John and this may be his last match of this century or whatnot, but at some point I want to see him back, whenever that is."
"The Last Time is Now" tournament begins on RAW next week, and Rusev will be among those competing for the right to face Cena during his final match at Saturday Night's Main Event next month (his opponent will be Damian Priest).
You can watch the full interview with Rusev in the player below.