Miro On Why He Feels AEW Is The Best Wrestling Promotion
Miro made his return to professional wrestling last week when he appeared on AEW Dynmaite as the best man for Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford's wedding. He was a recent guest on the Busted Open radio show and talked about why he chose to sign with AEW, mentioning how he loves the different styles that are presented with his new company.
"Ever since AEW formed, I started watching it and I was so fascinated by it," Miro said. "There are so many reasons why I was fascinated, but it didn't sink into my head until I got there and I was like, 'Wow!' It just blew my mind. I kind of have an epiphany in professional wrestling: I was just into this bubble and at the same style for ten years, and everything outside was like, 'Well, that makes no sense.' You're just pointing fingers, but now, I'm on the outside looking and I finally understand why AEW is the best. AEW gives you every single style around the world, and when they invite you to come to AEW, they don't invite you and tell you, 'Hey, come and change your style to what we want'. No, you come and show your style, doing whatever you're coming from.
"Luchadores come and they bring you lucha libre, instead of people with a strong style, they come in and do a strong style," Miro continued. "They don't have to be a style that a certain promotion wants. The old bubble is like boxing. AEW is like MMA. We have all styles combining into one and in one show. You'll see every single thing under the sun. You're not just going to see boxing, you're going to see all the martial arts. That's why I love AEW; that's why I cannot wait to get in the ring."
Miro continued saying he can't wait to present his style in AEW and referenced possibly drawing inspiration from Kurt Angle's tough in-ring style with the lightheartedness in the locker room.
"I was a big fan of Kurt Angle – I've said that before. I think he's probably my favorite superstar after Hulk Hogan, but the way he was in the ring, he'll kick your a-s so bad that you will have no idea. He will tie you up and will do anything. He's vicious! His promos were amazing, but backstage he was not afraid to have fun. He was not afraid to have fun.
"Even with movies, I was able to watch The Avengers – half of The Avengers is just a comedy. It's just a lighthearted feeling, 'Hey man! Good guys! Bad guys! Whatever, we can do it!' and that's what is so beautiful about entertainment. I want to be a human being because as human beings, that's what we do! We're not just one or two, we are everything!"
Miro later mentioned that he is on a mission to prove he is the best. He said he had been warned that while in WWE, people would try to expose him, and he worked diligently to be a well-rounded performer that could do everything. All he wants with his new company is the chance to showcase his skillset.
"[I want] to show that I am the best man," Miro said. "Plain and simple. The Best Man is not just a gimmick, I believe I am The Best Man. When you watch my video games, I am the best at video games. This is not something I say lightly. In the ring, I am the best in the ring, so it doesn't matter. You can't catch me off guard, that's the thing. People are like, 'Oh, let's try to expose him this way,' as Mark [Henry] warned me before.
"'Let's try to expose him that way'. No, you cannot, because I'm an all-around player, man. You can't. People tried for years. 'Oh, lets put him in this. Lets put him in that'. You just can't! You can give me your chicken and I will turn it into chicken – whatever you want. I'll turn into a chicken cake if you want! Just tell me what you want, man. That's all it is. That's all I'm asking: tell me what you want and let me do it because I sure can."
After spending many years working under the Rusev name, he now is facing the challenge of building the Miro name. He went on to say that he doesn't think it will be a very difficult task as he's been building that name since being let go from WWE.
"I don't think it's difficult at all," Miro revealed. "I feel like ever since I got let go, I did well on my downtime. I started my Twitch and promoted my own channel. I started doing some YouTube, started promoting myself there and those channels grew so fast, and it shows just how amazing our audience is. The wrestling crowd doesn't forget anybody. If you've done good, they will remember you, and I hope that is the case. It has been the case so far because when people see me on the street, they don't call me the 'R-Word' [Rusev] anymore. Everybody calls me Miro, and this has been just over one week. So, I think this is great, and also being with a company that actually promotes my stuff.
"AEW promotes my YouTube channel and promotes my social media," Miro added. "They want me to do good because this is the way of the future, man. All these dinosaurs – we don't need masked dinosaurs, we need Miro people. We need a new age that is going to take AEW to the mainstream. We need people like this, and I feel this is why I came in – because of my social media game, my video game, my name overall, everything, it's higher than other people in AEW and that's why I want to contribute. I want to bring more eyes to the product because essentially, they're going to see how good I am, and that's what I want to do."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Mehdy Labriny contributed to this article.