Miro was released from WWE, and they kept the Rusev name. He had to pick a new moniker, and there were a lot of options.
He eventually debuted in AEW as “The Best Man” Miro, but the former WWE Superstar revealed to Inside The Ropes that he had a much different idea. He considered going with a name that was so similar to Rusev that it would have been pronounced the same way.
“No, but the only thing… When I was joking about it, when I was in WWE, I was like, ‘When I leave here, I’m going to be Rusev with a double F!’
“But then I thought, ‘This is just so petty because this is not me,’ and I really wanted it to be me because I believe we perform best when we feel most comfortable – and I just feel most comfortable just being myself.”
Miro likely made the right decision by going with the name he picked. WWE might not have appreciated Miro picking a name so close to the one they still own a trademark for.