Real-life Bloodline member welcomes Rusev "home" after his return on WWE RAW

Rusev returned to WWE on RAW after WrestleMania 41. He destroyed the Alpha Academy on his first night back in the company and was welcomed "home" by Rikishi.

The 39-year-old's first stint with the Stamford-based company ended in 2021. During his first run, he won the WWE United States Championship thrice and was mostly dominant as champion.

On Instagram, Rusev's wife, Lana, shared photos after he returned to the company, to which Rikishi reacted with a short message.

"Welcome HOME #Proud," wrote Rikishi

Alberto Del Rio returning to WWE?

Check out Rikishi's comment on Instagram:

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Currently, Rusev isn't accompanied by his wife and former on-screen manager, Lana. The latter hasn't returned, but was in attendance for her husband's return on the RAW after WrestleMania 41.

Vince Russo believes Rusev will face Akira Tozawa and Otis after his WWE return

Rusev destroyed Akira Tozawa and Otis upon returning to the company. Vince Russo believes WWE has already planned singles matches between the 39-year-old superstar and members of Alpha Academy.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW, Russo explained why the former United States Champion returned during the tag team match that was set between The New Day and Alpha Academy on Monday Night RAW. He said:

"Bro, you know why they did it this way? We got two weeks of matches lined up. We got Otis lined up, and we've got Tozawa. Rusev is booked for the next two weeks, bro. Here we go. Write it in right now. We'll probably get Tozawa week one, and then we'll probably go to Otis week two. We got two weeks of Ws for Rusev."

From 2020 to 2025, Rusev (Miro) was under contract with AEW. He debuted as Kip Sabian's best man and went on a dominant run. The 39-year-old held the TNT Championship once during his time with Tony Khan's promotion.

About the author

Soumik Datta is a professional wrestling journalist who has been following the business for more than a decade.

In 2017, Soumik joined the Sportskeeda Wrestling team and is best known for his work with the WWE team. He has previously contributed to the Sportskeeda AEW, MMA, and the football team where he specifically covered the Major League Soccer.

In 2024, Soumik crossed 50 million reads for Sportskeeda WWE. While working under Sportskeeda MMA, he interviewed prominent UFC fighters, including Justin Gaethje, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen, among others. He is also being followed by John Cena on X (formerly Twitter).

Apart from his love for professional wrestling, Soumik also watches Football and has been a lifelong follower of Liverpool FC and Mohun Bagan. He has also been following the Indian Super League and remains the only content creator to have traveled across India to watch 7 ISL Matches in 7 Days, a video which currently sits at 26K views on his YouTube channel. His channel currently amasses over 120K views.

As aforementioned, Soumik also likes to make content for his YouTube channel and travel to various places either with family, friends, or solo, or go on road trips.

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Edited by Brandon Nell