Rusev returned to WWE recently. (Image via WWE.com)
Former AEW star Rusev recently returned to WWE after spending nearly five years with the Jacksonville-based promotion. The Bulgarian Brute returned on RAW after WrestleMania 41, two months after his exit from Tony Khan's company. He targeted Alpha Academy after re-debuting on the red brand before entering a rivalry with Sheamus.
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The 39-year-old didn't have the best run in Tony Khan's promotion and spent a lot of time away from television. Hall of Fame journalist Bill Apter, however, isn't a fan of his WWE stint so far and expressed disappointment over the booking of the former United States Champion.
While talking on The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Bill Apter claimed that, along with other former AEW stars, The Bulgarian Brute isn't being booked well. Rusev was brought back with a lot of excitement, but his return hasn't lived up to the mark in Apter's opinion.
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"Let's look at Rusev. We were all waiting for him to come back. He's getting pinned," Apter said. [1:35 onwards]
Rusev had a short yet successful run with the TNT Championship during his time with AEW. For the last few weeks, he has been involved in a rivalry with his former League of Nations stablemate, Sheamus, since he came to the rescue of Akira Tozawa. They have had two matches till now, and both wrestlers have won one each.
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About the author
Faiz Ahmed
Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.
Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.
When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.
When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.