5 things you didn't know about AEW star Miro: Hall of Famer trainer, original manager

Miro's AEW debut, and the following few months at the company, boosted ripples of criticism.

According to fans and critics, the Bulgarian wrestler had been ruined by WWE, who failed to conserve his rise as a monstrous foreign heel, and yet again declined to capitalize on his undoubted popularity as a face.

AEW, according to them, was engaging in the same mistake. However, Miro's gimmick soon shifted, and the new "God's Favorite" persona turned out to gain more fans than detractors. He managed to carry the AEW TNT Championship to a dominant run until recently losing it to Sammy Guevara.

Much about Miro is well-known. Former WWE superstar Lana is his real-life wife, and he is not a Russian as WWE once alleged him to be. However, there are still several facts fans may not be aware of.

Here is a list of 5 lesser-known facts about the former AEW TNT Champion.

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#5. The AEW star is the only Bulgarian to become a WWE superstar

Miro's Bulgarian origin is a commonly known fact. He was originally introduced as a Russian villain looking up to Vladimir Putin, but once WWE dumped the monster heel gimmick, they started referring to his Bulgarian identity more frequently.

However, a lesser-known fact is Miro's record as the first and only Bulgarian to become a WWE Superstar. Bulgaria hadn't observed a professional wrestling superstar since Dan Kolov in the early 20th century until The Redeemer filled the void and became a known name in the industry.

He moved to the US with the ambition of becoming a professional wrestler and trained under former WWE Superstars to improve his skills.

Miro ultimately succeeded in his goal and remained in WWE for an entire decade before leaving for AEW, where he may finally rise to become a true main eventer.

#4. AEW star Miro became an American citizen in 2019

The AEW star became an American citizen in September 2019.

In an Instagram post, Miro marked the moment to be 14 years in the making and said he was proud to be an American.

At that point in his career, Rusev was baffled and frustrated by WWE's reluctance to push him. The company never let his Rusev Day gimmick reach the pinnacle and abruptly halted it, providing him with odd, even offending, characters.

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#3. The former AEW TNT Champion trained under Gangrel and Rikishi

The Attitude Era of WWE saw Gangrel successfully depict a vampire gimmick and form a faction with Edge and Christian.

Rikishi was also successful, following a progression of poor gimmicks, to become popular with the spectators by playing a fun-loving, dancing big man.

After relocating to the US, Miro commenced training at Knox Pro Wrestling Academy, where the two Attitude Era WWE Stars were his trainers. He went on to become one of the most successful of their students.

#2 The current AEW star suffered a major injury in 2012

Injuries are commonplace in the world of professional wrestling, but the former AEW TNT Champion was the victim of quite a major setback when he was a rising star at FCW when he broke his neck and was out of the ring for nearly a year.

Shortly after his FCW debut, Miro had torn both of his anterior cruciate ligaments and spent half a year out of the ring. The neck injury put a larger question mark on his WWE career.

Due to the neck injury, Miro had to miss FCW's rebranding to WWE NXT, and he seized the opportunity to travel to Thailand, where he received Muay Thai lessons. He returned to WWE within a year of the injury, which temporarily paralyzed his arm.

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#1. Lana wasn't Miro's first manager in WWE

Lana, who either managed or diverted Rusev throughout his WWE career, was surprisingly not his first manager. The honor goes to Shaul Guerrero, daughter of Eddie and Vickie.

Incredibly, Aiden English, who managed and teamed with Rusev during his popular Rusev Day period, is the husband of the former WWE United States Champion's first manager.

Rusev's other pre-Lana managers were Nick Roger and Sylvester Lefort. Nevertheless, it was with Lana that he first indicated signs of becoming a major superstar.