Rusev Miroslav Barnyashev ( December 25 , 1985 ) , known by his former ring name Alexander Rusev and currently performing as Rusev , is a Bulgaria n professional wrestler and former powerlifter and rower . He works for the American professional wrestling promotion WWE , where he is a two - time WWE United States Champion . Barnyashev is the first Bulgarian to have wrestled for WWE . Early life and athletics career . Barnyashev was born in Plovdiv , Bulgaria . He attended a sports school while growing up and competed in rowing and powerlifting as an adult . Professional wrestling career . Early career ( 2008 – 2010 ) . In the mid - 2000s , Barnyashev emigrated from Bulgaria to the United States with the ambition of becoming a professional wrestler . He originally lived in Virginia , before relocating to Torrance , California , where he began training as a wrestler under Gangrel and Rikishi at the Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy . Barnyashev debuted on the independent circuit on November 22 , 2008 under the ring name " Miroslav Makaraov " , defeating Aerial Star . In 2010 , Barnyashev wrestled for Vendetta Pro Wrestling as " Miroslav " . While wrestling for VPW , he was managed by Markus Mac . He and several other VPW wrestlers appeared in the music video for the song " The Whole F ' n Show " by Kushinator ( the entrance music of wrestler Rob Van Dam ) . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Developmental territories ( 2010 – 2014 ) . In September 2010 , Barnyashev was signed to a contract by the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . He was assigned to the WWE ' s Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) developmental territory , where he adopted the ring name " Alexander Rusev " . He wrestled his first televised match on the July 17 , 2011 episode of " FCW " , defeating Mike Dalton while being managed by Raquel Diaz . Shortly after debuting in FCW , Rusev tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his meniscus and spent six months rehabilitating . Rusev returned to FCW in March 2012 with Nick Rogers as his manager . In the summer of 2012 , Rusev suffered a broken neck , temporarily paralyzing his arm . While rehabilitating , Barnyashev travelled to Thailand , where he studied the martial art Muay Thai . In August 2012 , WWE rebranded FCW as WWE NXT . After recovering from his injuries , Rusev made his " NXT " television debut on the May 30 , 2013 episode , competing in a battle royale to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship that was won by Bo Dallas . Rusev ' s first " NXT " singles match came about on August 21 , losing to Dolph Ziggler . Shortly thereafter , Rusev adopted Sylvester Lefort as his manager and formed a short - lived tag team with Scott Dawson named the " Fighting Legionnaires " ; they feuded with the team of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady . On the October 30 episode of " NXT " , Rusev ended his affiliation with Lefort by attacking him during a tag team bout . Rusev proceeded to adopt Lana as his " social ambassador " , a pairing compared by WWE to Ivan and Ludmilla Drago from the 1985 film " Rocky IV " . In matches taped before his main roster debut , Rusev defeated main roster wrestlers Kofi Kingston , Xavier Woods and Sin Cara in singles matches , which aired on " NXT " in January and February . Rusev continued to appear sporadically on " NXT " after joining the main roster in April 2014 . He made his final appearance on July 24 , 2014 , getting disqualified against NXT Champion Adrian Neville in a non - title match . Hero of the Russian Federation ( 2014 – 2015 ) . Rusev made his main roster debut at the Royal Rumble pay - per - view on January 26 , 2014 . The sixth entrant to the titular match , Rusev was eliminated by a joint effort of four wrestlers . After months of self - promotional videos and speeches by Rusev and his manager Lana , Rusev ' s return match on the main roster came about on the April 7 episode of " Raw " , where he squashed Zack Ryder . In May 2014 , Rusev adopted a Russophillic , anti - American gimmick that saw him announced as having relocated to Russia , and as having been named " Hero of the Russian Federation " . In the same month , his ring name was shortened to simply " Rusev " . Over the next several months , Rusev feuded with Big E ( whom he defeated at Payback and at Money in the Bank ) , Jack Swagger ( whom he defeated at Battleground and again at SummerSlam ) , Mark Henry ( who he defeated at Night of Champions ) and Big Show ( who he defeated at Hell in a Cell ) . Lana dedicated Rusev ' s string of victories to President of Russia Vladimir Putin , drawing attention from the mainstream press - including " The Washington Post " and " The Daily Beast " - and criticism after she was interpreted as having referred to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 before Rusev ' s match at Battleground in an attempt to generate heat . On the October 6 , 2014 episode of " Raw " , Rusev and Lana were confronted by The Rock in a surprise appearance ; with The Rock driving Rusev from the ring . On November 3 , Rusev gained his first professional wrestling championship and became the first Bulgarian - born champion in WWE history when he won United States Championship by defeating then - champion Sheamus in a post - " Raw " match that aired on the WWE Network . At , Rusev successfully defended his United States Championship , forcing Jack Swagger to tap out to his Accolade submission maneuver . Rusev was the runner - up in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match before being hurled over the top rope by the victorious Roman Reigns . On Royal Rumble Fallout , The Super Athlete interrupted an interview with John Cena , sparking a heated confrontation that has evolved into a very personal rivalry . With the help of Lana and a low - blow , Rusev was victorious with The Accolade over an unconscious Cena at WWE Fastlane . Despite initially rejecting the Cenation leader ’ s overtures for a rematch , The Super Athlete found himself in a precarious position on the March 9 Raw as Cena locked him in a suffocating version of the STF . As a result , Lana agreed to give Cena another chance to win the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31 , in exchange for Rusev ’ s release from the hold . Lana ’ s decision to grant Cena a rematch caused a dispute between her and Rusev . The Bulgarian Brute refused to answer questions regarding their relationship , showing up on Raw the next week for the United States Championship Match contract signing with a Russian lawyer by his side in place of The Ravishing Russian . After a miscommunication with Lana , Rusev was defeated by Cena and lost the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31 . He failed to regain the championship the following month at Extreme Rules in a Russian Chain match ; during the match , Lana garnered a positive reaction from the crowd , leading to Rusev banishing her from ringside and causing dissension between the two . Rusev lost to Cena once more at Payback on May 17 , 2015 in an " I Quit " match after Lana conceded the match on his behalf . On the following episode of Raw , Rusev ended his affiliation with Lana . During the episode , Rusev confronted Lana after she publicly kissed Dolph Ziggler in the ring . After receiving a slap by Lana and a ZigZag from Ziggler , Rusev was left knocked out in the ring while his former manager and his rival Ziggler exited the ring together . Split from Lana ( Early 2015 ) . On the May 25 , 2015 episode of Raw , Rusev reverted to being billed from Bulgaria and began carrying the flag of Bulgaria to ringside . Later on in the show , Rusev unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile with Lana . Rusev was scheduled to meet Ziggler at the 2015 Elimination Chamber , against R - Truth , King Barrett , Ryback and Sheamus in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship . On May 28 on Smackdown leading to the event , Rusev lost to Ryback by disqualification . As a further result from the match , Rusev suffered a legit foot fracture . He was unable to compete at Elimination Chamber and was replaced by Mark Henry in the chamber match for the IC title eventually won by Ryback . While recovering from his foot injury , Rusev would continue to unsuccessfully attempt to sway Lana away from Ziggler . Rusev would align with Summer Rae , to continue their feud with Lana and Ziggler . Rusev would fight Ziggler to a double count out at Summerslam , but would lose at Night of Champions due to interference from Summer Rae . Rae would announce her engagement with Rusev on an October edition of Raw , but Rusev dumped her , since it was reported on TMZ that Rusev and Lana were engaged . League of Nations , United States Champion ( 2016 - present ) . Rusev would be aligned with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus , King Barrett , and Alberto Del Rio to form the new stable The League of Nations , where Sheamus used his stable to keep the title from Roman Reigns . Rusev would reignite his feud with Ryback , whom he defeated at TLC , where Lana interfered . Rusev would enter the 2016 Royal Rumble for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at # 2 , but would be eliminated by the new and defending champion Roman Reigns , the man who eliminated Rusev the year before to win . Rusev and the League would feud with New Day , after picking losses against them , however , they defeated The New Day at WrestleMania 32 . The League would dissolve on the Smackdown before Payback . Rusev then won a battle royal on the May 16 episode of Raw to become # 1 Contender to Kalisto ' s United States Championship , last eliminating Zack Ryder . Rusev defeated Kalisto via submission at Extreme Rules to obtain his second title . Retaining his title against Titus O ' Neil at Money in the Bank and Ryder at Battleground , Rusev entered a feud with Roman Reigns , resulting in their Summerslam clash never happening due to Rusev ' s ribs cracking . They had a proper title match at Clash of Champions , which Rusev lost . Rusev and Lana requested a rematch , which Reigns accepted , but it is going to take place inside Hell in a Cell . Personal life . Barnyashev is in a relationship with Catherine Perry , who also performs for WWE under the ring name Lana . The couple bought a house together in Nashville , Tennessee . Barnyashev and Perry married on July 29 , 2016 .