Rusev recently appeared on the Man Cave Chronicles podcast, where he discussed several topics, ranging from his origins as a professional wrestling fan to his acting career. Here are some highlights.
On the first time he stepped into a ring:
Rusev: “Oh I loved it. I was so excited, and imagine, this ring was 14 by 14, it was a backyard ring, and it’s really bouncy, but, to me, it didn’t matter. I was inside the ring, I was actually amazed they let me get in the ring. I was really honored by that. And we started doing throws and little bumps and stuff like that and I just loved it.”
On his original character being like an 80s villain:
Rusev: My persona was built around those movies, my character inspiration was built around the movies, fighting movies throughout most of the 80s and early 90s so yeah, that was my goal. All I did was I changed my gear, I sent back and watched my favorite movie, “Kickboxer.” I watched that, my favorite bad guy is Tong Po, my favorite bad guy of all time, made the same trunks like he did, put my hands up like Muay Thai style, took my boots off, started taping my ankles. Next thing you know, I started doing shows in NXT, live events and a little bit of TV and I got very blessed and very lucky that Triple H was there at one of our tapings, and he saw me, and he was like, ‘Who’s that kid?’ Next thing you know I was on RAW.
On how his character has evolved in recent years:
Rusev: “It has evolved definitely, by far. And I like that it has evolved because I always knew that I’m not that one-dimensional, just a guy from the 80s, you know, a bad guy. I knew I had personality and I wanted to show that personality, either a good guy or a bad guy. And I’m glad that I had to show that, that I had that opportunity.
On his why his favorite moment in WWE was when he flexed with Hulk Hogan:
Rusev: “We got to be on the same team, we got to do the whole flexing routine, like, ‘Are you kidding me? I was six years old when I saw you and I wanted to be like you, and now I got to do with you what I wanted to become,’ and that’s just mind blowing.”
The full episode is available below:
