WWE chief Vince McMahon told Rusev fans were MOCKING him during iconic chant before his release and wrestling retirement
FORMER WWE star Rusev has revealed that Vince McMahon once claimed fans were MOCKING him when they shouted his iconic ‘Rusev Day’ chant.
The Bulgarian was one of 21 superstars the billionaire released from their contracts due to coronavirus financial cuts in April.
During his time off the 34-year-old has undergone a dramatic body transformation.
He has also become a big hit on his official Twitch channel on social media and now says he has retired from wrestling.
It is a stark change for Rusev – real name Miroslav Barnyashev – who was one of WWE’s most popular stars back in 2017.
Alongside real life wife Lana and Aidan English, the former US Champion’s gimmick started when was given the key to the city from his hometown of Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
He declared Rusev Day would be an official holiday before claiming that every day was Rusev Day.
Yet despite his merchandise outselling Roman Reigns and fans chanting for him, the ex-NXT star suffered from bad booking and was never pushed.
The first meeting it was, ‘they’re f***ing with you, they don’t mean what they’re saying. I respect and I listen because I always want to listen from Vince. He had everybody on his side. In my mind, I knew it wasn’t true.
Former WWE star Rusev
Appearing on , Rusev has now admitted that WWE CEO McMahon squashed his plan to mirror how Kurt Angle was presented in switching from comedy act to powerhouse grappler.
He said: “Why can’t I do that? Why can’t I show my personality backstage? Why can’t I go in the ring and do what I do?
“Then I was told, ‘Don’t look at the people, don’t smile, don’t do this.’ Really? Everything I’m doing, it seems the people are liking it.
“Why am I getting over and you’re telling me to do the opposite? I didn’t understand, I had a conversation with Vince and he told me that with Rusev Day, they were just mocking me, they didn’t mean it.
“[Rusev Day] was going on. There was no way the office didn’t notice because it was before, after, during the show. It was everywhere.
“I always felt defeated because what was I doing it for? It was all competition and finally, I got to a point of, ‘wow, we’re doing something right.’
“There’s no way it wasn’t noticed. The first meeting it was, ‘they’re f***ing with you, they don’t mean what they’re saying.’
“I respect and I listen because I always want to listen from Vince. He had everybody on his side. In my mind, I knew it wasn’t true.
“They started putting my segments early so the ‘Rusev Day’ chants would go away. I was not even supposed to be on WrestleMania, the year I lost to Jinder.
“I was not on TV for three weeks. I’m sitting backstage all night and listening to people chant ‘Rusev Day.’
“I went to one of the writers and I’m like, ‘This is not right.’ This is the first time I yelled at a writer, and I felt bad. He was like, ‘We don’t know what to do.’ What do you mean you don’t know what to do? Just listen. They’ll tell you what to do.
“They’re shoving me down and I don’t understand why. What am I fighting for? I did everything, right? I went to acting classes, I started working on my body, I did all the extra stuff.
“I was just defeated. When Vince said the second time, ‘they’re f***ing with you,’ I said, ‘Vince, we have sold out all of our merchandise.’
“‘What do you mean?’ ‘The shirt is sold out.’ ‘Well, maybe they didn’t make enough.’ ‘They didn’t make enough shirts, that’s why it’s sold out? Not because we’re doing good? Really?’
“Then they didn’t know what to do, good guy or bad guy, come on, man.”