When was Rusev's (fka Miro) last AEW match? Know all about what led to his exit

Earlier this year, Miro departed from AEW after an extended in-ring hiatus. Soon after, rumors followed that the former TNT Champion was headed back to his former workplace, WWE. The reports were proven accurate on the latest edition of Monday Night RAW, where the powerhouse returned to the sports entertainment juggernaut under his old ring name, Rusev. This takes place over a year since his last AEW match, against Andrade El Idolo in 2023.

Miro debuted in All Elite Wrestling in 2020 after WWE released him earlier that year. Initially appearing as Kip Sabian's ally and "Best Man," the Bulgarian soon went solo and was booked dominantly en route to his TNT Championship match against Darby Allin. He dethroned the daredevil on Dynamite (May 12, 2021) and held the TNT Title as "God's Favorite Champion" for 140 days before losing it to Sammy Guevara in a massive upset in September.

Afterwards, Miro lost to Bryan Danielson in the finals of an AEW World Title contender's tournament at Full Gear 2021. Unfortunately, The Redeemer's stint in the Tony Khan-led company seemed to fizzle out from this point on, marked by long stretches of television absence. He failed to become the inaugural (then) All-Atlantic Champion at Forbidden Door 2022. He teamed with Darby Allin and Sting to defeat The House of Black in trios action at All Out, but went missing from programming after that once again.

Miro returned in 2023 and competed mainly on AEW Collision. He defeated Powerhouse Hobbs at All Out 2023 and seemingly began a storyline with CJ Perry after the latter's debut at the pay-per-view. This eventually led to the former WWE US Champion coming into conflict with Andrade El Idolo, whom Perry elected to manage. The two men faced off at Worlds End 2023, where CJ turned on Andrade and helped Miro win. El Idolo has since crossed over to WWE, performing on the SmackDown brand.

The erstwhile Rusev and Lana reportedly believed they would be pushed together as a top act in the aftermath of Worlds End, but this did not come to pass. Both stars were left off of All Elite TV in 2023. In July 2024, Perry revealed she was no longer with the Tony Khan-led promotion. Later in September, it was reported that Miro had asked for his release. Finally, in February 2025, news broke that AEW had successfully negotiated the 39-year-old star's exit.

Former AEW star Miro is back on WWE RAW

Several weeks after his AEW departure, Miro finally returned to WWE on the April 21 edition of Monday Night RAW, following on the heels of WrestleMania 41. The Bulgarian Brute interrupted a World Tag Team Title match between The New Day and The Alpha Academy, attacking Akira Tozawa and Otis before the bout started.

It remains to be seen whether Rusev has tag team gold in his sights as his first quest under Triple H's creative regime.