Who is hiding under the ring-yum Alexander Rusev?

Alexander Rusev is a pseudonym under which stands the wrestler and former powerlifter Miroslav Barnyashev. He also appeared in the ring under the nickname Mad Madan and with the name of Miroslav Makarov.

The athlete was born on December 25, 1985 in Plovdiv. His height is 180 cm, and the weight is 139 kg. The first performance of Miroslav took place in 2008. And the athlete's coaches were Rikishi, Tom Pritchard, Billy Kidman and Gangrel.

American dream

Alexander Rusev is a wrestler who was born in the second largest city in Bulgaria. In the local children's sports school, he attended sections of canoeing and powerlifting. But in the domestic sport no prospects were drawn. Already in 20 years, the boy exchanged his native country for the United States.

Statist Miroslav immediately interested in the staff of the wrestling academy in California. And then it became clear that he was destined for the role of the hero. To make it easier for the public to perceive the athlete, he began to act under pseudonyms. The first were Miroslav and Makarov.

Soon, WWE managers noticed the wrestler, and in the fall of 2010 the Bulgarian signed a working contract with them. It was then that his promotion started under the name of Alexander Rusev.

The debut of the wrestler

Having signed a contract with the world's largest organizer of wrestling matches, Alexander Rusev became an active participant in the FCW platform. His debut on television took place on July 17, in this battle he defeated Mike Dalton. Shortly after this triumphal event, the wrestler suffered a serious injury and 2 years could not perform. Returning to the ring in 2012, Alexander broke his neck, and also paralyzed his hand. So there was only a long way to recover without sports achievements.

Performances on NXT

Alexander Rusev, whose biography has repeatedly turned the athlete from wrestling, returned to television in 2013 in the image of the Bulgarian Brutus. Unfortunately, luck did not smile at Alexander and he could not get the title of the absolute champion of NXT. The Bulgarian wrestler was defeated by Dolph Ziggler.

After this incident, Alexander joined forces with Scott Dawson. The role of the manager was performed by Sylvester Lefort. Then followed the succession of victories of their successful sports tandem. And on March 13, 2014, the Bulgarian wrestler was able to make his debut in the main part of the NXT.

"Indestructible Russian"

On April 7, Alexander became a member of the main WWE squad and in the first battle destroyed Zak Ryder. Already in May, the Bulgarian began to perceive as a Russian, who zealously hates the United States. This image was given to the wrestler by officials.

Then began a series of competitions of Alexander Rusev with the American superstars of this sport. Lana - the manager of the indestructible champion, and then the girl, all the time added fuel to the fire with her promo.

In a confrontation with the Rock, Alexander Rusev was defeated, but this did not prevent him from winning further. By November, he already wore the status of champion of America.

Return to the ring and new confrontations of the indomitable wrestler

After Payback Alexander Rusev appeared before the audience in the image of the Bulgarian Brutus. The wrestler could not hide the sadness from the fact that Lana took the side of Dolph Ziggler. Immediately after their quarrel the powerlifter suffered an injury, which put him on the hospital chair for almost 2 months.

Then followed a series of victories in the matches with Kevin Owens, John Sina, Dolph Ziggler. At the last RAW Alexander again quarreled with Lana and was injured by Dolph.

A little later Ziggler announced before all the future match against Alexander Rusev, held at SummerSlam. But he brought both wrestlers only a draw, because their forces were equal.

Titles and achievements of Alexander Rusev

• Title of the champion of America according to WWE.
• Progress of 2014 according to WON.
• Progress of 2014 according to PWI.
• Award for contribution to the development of the Russian wrestling in 2014.