A Bulgarian professional wrestler, born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In addition to being a former weightlifter, he joined the WWE. Although he goes as Rusev in the ring, his true name is Miroslav Barnyashev. He exercised powerlifting as an adult, participated in rowing competitions, and enrolled in a sports school as a teenager. Subsequently, he left Bulgaria to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler in the United States. Before relocating to Torrance, California, he was a resident of Virginia. He trained wrestling at the Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy. He participated in Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon (2016).