Wednesday was not a happy Rusev Day.
We found out yesterday that dozens of WWE Superstars, agents and backstage/office employees lost their jobs as part of a major purge to save the company some revenue during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There were a few surprising cuts, but Rusev (real name Miroslav Barnyashev) is arguably the biggest name to be future endeavored.
The Bulgarian Brute hadn't been on TV since his feud with Bobby Lashley came to an end, but he was still very popular with the WWE Universe, and had the potential to be a main event star. Reports indicate that this is far from the last of the cuts, and many more are expected.
You can find an updated list of Superstars, agents and referees that have been released below.
Kurt Angle, Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev), Drake Maverick (James Curtin), Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona), Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers), Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra), Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson), Heath Slater (Heath Miller), Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz), Rowan (Joseph Ruud), Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe), No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela), Mike Chioda, Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett), Maria Kanellis, EC3 (Michael Hutter), Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt), Lio Rush (Lionel Green), Primo (Edwin Colon) and Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves).