Rusev Officially Becomes an American Citizen

Three-time United States Champion Rusev took to social media on Friday to announce that he had [...]

Three-time United States Champion Rusev took to social media on Friday to announce that he had officially received his American citizenship certification. Born Miroslav Barnyashev in Plovdiv, Bulagaria, the big man moved to the United States in the mid-2000s with dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. He trained under WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi and made his wrestling debut in 2008 in San Diego, California. He signed a developmental contract with the WWE two years later and was moved to the Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory, which was later moved to Orlando and renamed NXT.

"It's was a long road. 14 years in the making," Rusev wrote. "So much hardship and obstacles along the way, but in the end who cares! I'm proud to be an American!"

Rusev and fellow WWE Superstar Lana (real name CJ Perry) married in July 2016. He made his main roster debut at the 2014 Royal Rumble and would be officially introduced to the Raw brand alongside Lana in April of that year.

After failing to capture the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35 alongside Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev took a months-long hiatus from the company that led many fans to speculate over whether or not he was leaving the WWE. Those doubts were squashed in mid-September when he returned to attack Mike Kanellis during an episode of Raw.

While he's still with the company, Rusev hasn't been afraid to voice his frustrations regarding WWE Creative in the past. Back in February he spoke with Lilian Garcia on the Chasing Glory podcast about how WWE officials abruptly decided to erase his Rusev Day gimmick alongside Lana and Aiden English.

"Who's to say? Management had different visions. We fought, we fought. If it ain't broke, there's nothing to fix," Rusev said.

"I fight for everything ... I do want to look my best, I do wanna be at my best because I wanna be WWE Champion. I want to be on top," he later added. "I don't want to be forgotten but that's what irks me is I do all these things but nothing changes and that is where the frustration comes. What am I supposed to do? I cut my hair, I did that. It was not a good decision," laughed Rusev.

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