“I was Unhappy When AEW Started”- Miro Opens Up on his WWE Release

AEW’s newest star Miro discussed his release from WWE during the Talk is Jericho podcast. The Bulgarian was released as a part of the alleged budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris Jericho revealed that Miro had contacted him when AEW had just begun, back when he was still Rusev. He was only one of the many wrestlers who got in touch with either Jericho or AEW.

Miro was unhappy at WWE

“I kind of new I was gonna come here, I was unhappy when AEW started because I felt I could give a lot more than how they were using me”, said Miro. “I never pushed to be any type of champion, I just wanted the opportunity to excel.” Miro felt he exceled in every opportunity, but he still felt underutilized.

Rusev was one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE. He sold a ton of ‘Rusev Day’ merchandise and held the WWE Universe in the palm of his hands when he was wrestling. His last few months with the company were spent in the terrible Lana-Bobby Lashley storyline, which even involved Liv Morgan for some reason. Lashley went on to better things with the Hurt Business and MVP but Rusev was treading water.

“I’m a very competitive person”, says Miro. “In my mind, if you do better, you should be on top.” Miro was growing increasingly frustrated over his booking in WWE. “I was killing myself to a degree”, said the former United States Champion, and that is where he decided that he needed a new challenge.

His debut was one of the most groundbreaking moments in AEW

Miro made his AEW debut as Kip Sabian’s best man. His gimmick was based of his real life passion for gaming, as he owns a streaming channel on Twitch. In his debut match, Miro and Sabian beat Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela. He made his singles debut against Trent Barretta of the Best Friends, and he made him submit to the Accolade.

The most shocking part of the interview was that Miro himself had contacted Chris Jericho when AEW Dynamite had just begun airing. “I remember asking you, ‘How much time you get left on your contract?’ and you said 2-3 years, and I said they aren’t gonna let you go”, said Chris Jericho on the podcast.

Miro is definitely in a better place career wise. AEW’s roster is steeped in talent and opportunities for the Bulgarian to prove his worth to the wrestling world. Signing with AEW also allows Miro to take bookings in promotions like NJPW and even independent bookings. Seeing Miro in NJPW would be a dream come true for fans, and its all thanks to AEW snapping him up after his release.