Miro: 5 Facts you need to know about AEW's latest signing

Former WWE star Rusev surprised many fans last night when he emerged under the name Miro as AEW's newest signing. Miro made his debut as the man who will be Kip Sabian's best man when he marries Penelope Ford, which is interesting since Rusev himself was only recently part of an on-screen wedding for AEW's rival WWE.

The star formerly known as Rusev was employed by WWE for almost a decade before he was released from the company back in April alongside a number of other stars due to COVID-19 budget cuts.

Zack Ryder was also released from the company back in April is now employed by AEW as Matt Cardona.

While Rusev has been on WWE TV screens for many years, Miro is a new face in the All Elite Wrestling universe. Here are a few facts that every fan needs to know.

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#5. Miro was a historic signing for WWE

While many members of the WWE Universe believe that Miro signed with WWE back in 2013 and was made a part of NXT straight away, this wasn't actually the case.

Miro moved from Bulgaria to the United States to follow his dream of becoming a professional wrestler in the mid-2000s before he was signed by WWE in 2010 and was sent to their FCW training facility.

Formerly known as Rusev, he was kept in FCW for almost three years before he returned to TV screens and made his debut on NXT. Miro was a historic signing for WWE since he became the first-ever Bulgarian star to sign on the dotted line for Vince McMahon's conglomerate company.

Over the past decade, Miro has pushed the boundaries as both a face and a heel on WWE TV and is a former three-time United States Champion.

#4. Miro already boasts an impressive acting resume

While Miro's wife Lana was the star who came to WWE with a background in acting, it appears that the former WWE star has been able to step into the acting business a few times already.

It's common knowledge that the former United States Champion appeared as a cast member on a number of episodes of Total Divas alongside his wife, Miro has also branched out into a number of acting roles.

Back in 2016, Miro played the role of a boyfriend in the television series Sisters before moving on to play himself in the WWE Studios film, Countdown, and then voiced his character in Scooby Doo and WWE: The Curse of The Speed Demon.

Most recently, Miro stepped out of his comfort zone and portrayed the role of Kirill in Another Version Of You back in 2018. While the the star is currently part of All Elite Wrestling, his contract with the company would probably allow him to still dip his toe back into the acting pool.

#3. Miro is married to WWE Superstar Lana

Miro made his AEW debut last night on Dynamite as the best man for Kip Sabian's wedding to Penelope Ford. Rusev is someone who knows a thing or two about weddings since he's had two of his own.

Miro is currently married to WWE star Lana, who acted as his manager for the most part of her career, but is who currently managing Natalya on Monday Night RAW.

Lana and Miro married back in 2016 but the stars decided to have two weddings, one in Miami and one in Bulgaria, both of which were filmed as part of Total Divas.

The former WWE star met his future wife in NXT and the couple began dating after being put together as a manager and talent. While Lana went on to work with the likes of Bobby Lashley and Dolph Ziggler in feuds against her husband, the couple are still going strong and are now one of just five wrestling couples who are split between WWE and AEW.

#2. Miro was trained by a WWE Hall of Famer

Miro was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 1984 and went on to compete in Powerlifting, rowing, and Samba while he was growing up. In the mid-2000s, when Miro was still a teenager, he moved from Bulgaria to the United States to pursue a career in professional wrestling.

Whilst Miro originally lived in Virginia, he relocated to Torrance, California to begin training with WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi and Gangrel at the Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy.

The former WWE star made his professional debut back in 2008 under the ring name Miroslav Makaraov, before later moving on to shorten the name to just Miroslav.

It didn't take long for Miro to attract attention from WWE, since less than two years later he was signed to a contract with the company in September 2010 and sent to their FCW training facility.

It was while he was wrestling down in FCW that he adopted and originally debuted the ring name Alexander Rusev, which he would be known as throughout his career in NXT.

#1. Miro's wrestling career was almost over before it began

While Miro's professional wrestling career was pretty straightforward since he was signed by WWE just two years after making his debut, his career could have come to an end in the summer of 2012 when Miro legitimately broke his neck.

This injury came just a year after he had torn both his anterior cruciate ligament and his meniscus and spent six months on the sidelines following his FCW debut.

The neck injury meant that Miro missed the rebranding of FCW into NXT. During his rehabilitation, he was able to travel to Thailand and study Muay Thai before making his return to WWE, debuting on NXT in May 2013 in a battle royal that was won by Bo Dallas.

Miro's neck injury also meant that he was temporarily paralyzed in his arm, but he was still able to recover and make his return to WWE TV in less than a year. Nearly 12 months af Rusev made his NXT debut, he appeared on WWE's main roster in January 2014 as the sixth entrant in the annual Royal Rumble match.