Rusev explains why he returned to WWE: ‘I wanted to wrestle more and more’
Wanting to wrestle more often was a big reason that Rusev made the decision to return to WWE last year.
In May 2025, Rusev returned to WWE five years after having been released during a round of pandemic-related roster cuts. He was signed to AEW between those WWE stints but was off television for a considerable amount of time near the end of his AEW run. That period was difficult for Rusev given how much he likes to have a busy schedule.
“I wanted to wrestle, man. I wanted to mix it up with the best,” Rusev said on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet when asked what brought him back to WWE. “And I know that the roster is stacked, clearly. Their roster is really stacked. I don’t remember the last time it was this stacked, but I just want to mix it [up] with everybody. I wanted to wrestle more and more and all these European tours and everything.”
“I love all that. I love the grind. Because when we first started, we were five days on the road: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, you go home Wednesday, you’re out on the road again on Friday. And that’s just how life was. As hard as it was, that’s how you get better, just by putting the work. Because every day you work different towns, you travel. And now the people can only hear about that and be like, ‘Oh, really, that’s what it was?’ But it was so cool, man. Like wrestling, you know, getting beat up, getting the rental car, driving three hours to the next town, getting the hotel, waking up, working out, doing the same thing. Just like makes you feel like a real professional wrestler. I missed the grind. I missed that. I really, really do.”
Rusev has denied rumors that he was reluctant to lose matches during his time with AEW. When asked about the situation, Tony Khan said he and Rusev had “different visions of things,” but he wishes Rusev the best now that he’s back with WWE.
On Insight, Rusev pointed to one of his matches from AEW as a highlight he wishes people would talk about more. Rusev loves his match against Fuego Del Sol from the first-ever episode of AEW Rampage. They only went two minutes before Rusev got the win, but they were able to convince the audience that Del Sol had a legitimate chance of getting the victory.
“Me and Fuego in AEW,” Rusev said. “It was a great match because we had two minutes or three minutes and they wanted me to squash them. I said, ‘What is that going to do for anything?’ We already know, people walking down the aisle, everybody knows who’s going to win. But we got them good, man. Because with those two minutes, we got them into such a great spot to think that he was able to win. I think that’s one of the great things that I’ve done, even though it was just two minutes.”
Rusev believes, compared to his first WWE run, he’s much better in the ring now due to the experience he’s gained. A matchup with Oba Femi could be up next for him. Those two had a confrontation on Raw last night, though WWE has yet to confirm which brand Femi will be joining following his call-up from NXT.
Where will The Ruler @Obaofwwe sign? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/nOIGp8FZlx
— WWE (@WWE) February 17, 2026
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.